You Are My Life Now
by RidiculouslyFixated
Summary: Isabella Cullen, a skeptical vampire, is forced to rethink her views of humanity when she becomes friends with the new kid, Edward Masen, at her highschool. ExB, R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Highschool

**Hey everyone! I've had this idea swirling around in my head for a while now, and I asked a couple of people about it and they told me to go for it! I'm not going to neglect First Impressions Don't Last, but I'll just write for whichever story I feel like at the time, k? Read and review, please!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer OWNS Twilight. And probably you as well. She sure owns me. **

Highschool. Great.

The tedium of this infuriating and yet oh-so-necessary façade never failed to grate on me, even after it had been repeated for the ten, twenty, thirtieth year in a row. If there was any possible way to escape the monotony, by burning or otherwise, I'd have leapt upon it a long time ago. As it was, my mind sunk into the closest thing to sleep I could experience. It was relaxing, I supposed, if I ever needed to be relaxed. My family sat in the same state of inertness as I, looking for all the world like bored teenagers should. Only I could pick up their nerves humming, ready to instinctively ward off any attacks or…something. I didn't quite know what they were expecting to encounter inside a normal, _human_ highschool. Simply the thought of any kind of threat from these fragile creatures made me want to laugh.

"Bella." Alice's wind-chime voice was so quiet, there was no doubt that it was all but silent to any nearby humans. My head turned slowly from side to side as I thought to check for anyone unfortunate to be too close. Then I returned my attention back to the white-wash walls of the cafeteria.

"Yes?" I replied equally softly, my nonchalant tone carrying just enough boredom to make my sister narrow her eyes in suspicion. She scrutinized me from the corner of her sloe-black eyes, before that tiny rosebud mouth pursed into a loose kind of grimace. Those eyes flickered to the honey-blonde male beside her, before turning back to me. _Jasper_. I let out an internal sigh. Of course.

"If he…does anything, can you help him? Please?" Though she tried to keep those words impassive, I could hear the real anxiety and pain underlying them. My silent heart swelled in pity, and I forced my mouth to curve into what I hoped was a reassuring smile. My cold, white hand patted hers in a gesture that would have appeared absentminded to anyone watching us.

Even as she spoke, my focus was shifted from my own boredom to Jasper's internal turmoil. His eyes were oblivious to me, to Alice, to Rosalie and Emmett as they sat across from us. A tall, redheaded girl walked in front of one of the school's many heating vents, her scent intensifying as it was propelled towards us in a stroke of bad luck. My throat burned dully, the venom pooling in my mouth by reflex. I could visualise the feline movements of my brother as he stood, moving at a regular human pace. He could reach over as though to pull her hair back from her face, hear the thrumming of her heart increase as he drew nearer, cold breath on her neck…

My free hand reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. There was a small crunch as stone met stone, and he turned to look at me, the shame evident across those too-perfect features. "Sorry," he mumbled, the low sound carrying the same feelings I'd seen in his expression. Alice reached across the table, her tiny hand clasping his shoulder in something that was meant to be comforting. His mouth tightening almost imperceptibly as his soul mate began to speak, her high trilling voice carrying clearly over the top of any other conversations, but too shrill for any human to pick up.

"Just think, Jazz. You'll be graduating soon, and you don't have to worry about…slipping." Her carefully casual tone fell slightly on the last word, and Jasper met her dark eyes, both shame and defiance mingling in his own golden ones.

"I'm fine, Alice," he said shortly, turning his focus to the wide window on the left side of the cafeteria. Like most days in Forks, Washington, the sky outside was heavily overcast, the thick wall of cloud between the earth and the mythical sunlight seeming impenetrable. I looked at it with resignation, though I supposed I should be purely grateful for the weather patterns that made going outside an option for my family and I. Here, we appeared no different from the other humans that milled around, complaining of homework and other such teenage issues.

Today was going to be no different to the usual monotony of the high school life we'd become so accustomed to. Well, no different for us, anyway. There was a new student in the building, one that had the student body alive with anticipation. I could smell the excitement that rolled from each of them in waves; they were so predictable. Had I not been full of sheer boredom, their child-like impatience would have made me laugh. As it was, I studied each face carefully, studying for a hint of what appeal this presumably normal person could hold. How strange. I didn't even know the gender yet.

A tiny girl with dark, corkscrew curls flying wildly around her face looked as though she were about to spontaneously combust with excitement as her eyes took in a group of students walking in through the cafeteria doors. She had been sitting by herself in a table near the centre of the room; at their approach, she all but jumped from her seat, one arm raised and waving furiously above her head. Jessica Stanley. The name brought back bitter memories of a shallow, cruel girl who had tried to befriend me with lies and gossip when my family had first moved to Forks. Though I hadn't really paid any such attention to her—she'd only been seeking to advance her social position by befriending the 'pretty' Cullen's—it had still burned when I'd heard of the untrue stories she'd spread to anyone willing to listen. Thought it was pure pettiness, the sense of moral decency I'd acquired in my limited human years still left me hurting.

Rosalie suddenly stiffened slightly, her blonde waves shaking against her back. My head turned infinitesimally so as to be angled towards her, my expression one of polite confusion. Her eyes, like Jessica Stanley's, were also focussed on the doorway. Deciding finally that it was against my best interests to ignore whatever had captured everyone's interest, though already knowing exactly what it was, I returned my focus to the now full table.

The back of Mike Newton's blonde, over-gelled head was moving animatedly. The sight only made me think of his embarrassing attempts to woo me, and I cringed slightly, though more for him than myself. I could hear his unnecessarily raucous laughter bouncing from the stone walls. The sound made me wince—it was overly loud and unpleasant to my sensitive, immortal ears—but I returned my eyes to the other occupants of the table.

Lauren Mallory, a girl filled with more malice than any human I'd ever come across, was staring openly, her small eyes narrowed in on something that was almost entirely obscured by the backs of Ben Cheney and Tyler Crowley. They too stood laughing and talking to someone I couldn't see. My thoughts ran through the list of people who sat with that group; perhaps Angela Weber? Though their voices, and the words carried by them, were too loud, too jovial to be speaking to a female of any persuasion. The name _Edward Masen_ was repeated around the hall by too many voices to put names to. So it was a male then.

It was only when Tyler moved around to take a spot in the ever-lengthening line, that my gaze locked onto a pair of piercing green eyes, trained only on my face.

The boy sat across from me, his hands bent under his chin as though in a mockery of Rodin's Thinker. He was tall—at least, that was my perception from this distance and his sitting position—with untidy bronze coloured hair falling into those unusual eyes. Pale skin was striking in contrast to the array of shades his red-brown hair and moss coloured eyes lent him. He was handsome, for a human, the fine muscles of his legs and arms deceptively fragile. The ivory sweater he wore clung to his defined chest, and I found my mind wandering to exactly what was beneath that thin, warm material. Most humans dropped their gaze almost immediately after catching one of ours; instead, he stared at me openly, fascination flitting across his face. He turned his face to Ben, ensuring that I could only see his profile.

"Who's the girl with the long dark hair?" I heard him ask, his voice low and clear to my ears. It was smooth, not booming or rough like many human boys around this age. Somehow, it seemed more mature.

Ben glanced at me quickly, only to redden and turn away quickly.

"That's Isabella Cullen. The small, dark haired girl is Alice Cullen, the boy next to her is Jasper Hale. Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen are on the other side." I watched with amusement as Edward's eyes flicked to my huge, muscular brother, the expression in them both apprehensive and speculative. "They're the adoptive family of Dr Cullen and his wife. Dr Cullen works at the local hospital."

My mirth was cut short as Jessica leaned over eagerly, no doubt making use of her unnecessarily low-cut shirt to make a lasting impression on the boy. "_They're all together, though—Emmett and Rosalie, and Alice and Jasper I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town. (Twilight, page 18)_. I wondered idly what Edward thought of this as his eyes flickered to me, the only unpaired member of the beautiful, antisocial family.

"Bella!" Alice's voice cut through my reverie for the second time that day, her eyes this time wide with shock at whatever she'd just seen. Her hand, the same temperature as my own, grasped my forearm tightly, the hold unbreakable. It would have crushed the bones of a human arm into a pulp.

I turned to her, feigning innocence. "Yes? Did I do something wrong? What's wrong, Alice?" My voice became a little rougher as I fully took in her horrified stare. Anxiety clouded my mind. I looked over her shoulder to Jasper, who had finally realised that something was wrong. _Well spotted_, I thought acidly. He glanced at me, mouth set in a familiar grimace, and I knew that he could feel what I felt. He was good like that.

She only stared at me blankly, mouth hanging open. Only when she blinked twice and let out a quiet sigh did I know she was returned to the present time and day.

"Go to class, Bella." I realised that the bell had rung without my noticing. Sighing deeply, I reached up and scooped my books off the table into a neat pile in my arms. The action was effortless; the textbooks could have been balanced as easily on one of my fingers without falling to the ground. One of the many advantages of this life. The increased senses, the strength, the agility, the instincts…the desire for human blood.

A shudder rippled through my mind as I remembered my more rebellious days. They had come months, years after my creation, and thankfully only lasted for around a month of two. My aversion to blood in my human life had curbed the worst of my newborn appetite, allowing less erring within my life. Of course, like any teenager I had craved freedom, the ability to wander nomadically and make my own decisions. I thought of the reflection that had been so haunting, so chillingly inhuman. Chalk white skin, shockingly pale in contrast to the thick dark curtain of my hair and the crimson eyes. Oh yes, the features were perfect. All of ours were; they were markers of our very kind. The kind of beauty I had so admired in my previous life now left me not knowing what to think. I wasn't a monster, or at least, not by choice; but who could deny that those eyes, with fresh blood glowing in their irises, did not belong to something soulless?

My morbid thoughts continued as I slid effortlessly into my seat in the tiny English classroom. As usual, I was earlier than most of the students who had left minutes before my family; there really was something to be said for inhuman agility and the love of sheer speed. I allowed my props—textbooks, I mentally corrected myself—to spill out across my desk, looking like a student set for an important lecture of some kind. A small smile curved my lips as the thought entered my mind. I highly doubted that there was anything that I, a published author, could glean from these dull, dry lessons given by a man who would be almost as old as me.

Students flooded in through the doors as the second bell sounded, the sound of their hearts and breathing reaching me before they'd even set foot inside the building. Chatter accompanied their arrival; the majority of it was purely inane, conversation for conversation's sake. I'd grown used to it, but it was still difficult to hide my annoyance. And to think, I'd once been so tolerant. Perhaps consistent exposure to such blatant stupidity had worn my patience down.

Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley walked in, giggling about something. Lauren's cold blue eyes flickered once to me, but darted away again when they met my amber gaze. She whispered something to Jessica, and their giggling grew louder as they took their seats on the other side of the class. The scents of these people intensified within the tiny room, growing in presence and in power. Still, it was nothing I wasn't used to. The advantage of practice had prepared me for the daily task of resisting the murders of innocent children.

Edward Masen's figure appeared at the doorway, flanked by Tyler and Mike as before. It appeared he was one to make friends easily enough, though I suspected most of the females were interested based solely on his looks. He was laughing as he shook out his already dishevelled hair; by the sounds of protest, I guessed he'd just sprayed the other two with ice cold rainwater that had gathered between the strands.

He walked through, and again those emerald eyes met my own. Something like surprise crossed those features, and his mouth opened as though about to say something. I heard the tempo of his heart increase, and smiled gently, my eyes staring deep into his. The already sped-up rhythm faltered, becoming uneven as it beat in his chest. One hand reached out to grip the edge of the table as he prepared to swing himself into his chair, ever the Bond protégé.

What an unfortunate moment, then, to have the heater blast hot air across his body as into my face.

I couldn't speak, all curious thoughts of this unusual human boy wiped clean from my mind. His hair ruffled, sending intensified bursts of that unimaginable scent to my waiting nostrils. My muscles tensed, coiled to spring as the venom flooded my mouth, and my throat flamed.

I was a hunter. He was my prey. There was nothing else for it at that moment. Behind me, I heard a small cough from Tyler, but I ignored it. The back and side rows were already dead, all witnesses disposed of in my mind as my attention trained fully on the auburn haired boy now sitting in front of me.

How was it possible, that a scent like this should even exist? In all my seventy years of existence, I could not possibly have imagined…could not have comprehended that any blood should smell as sweet at this boys did now. And the smell would intensify as the class progressed. It would bloom like some demented flower, stimulated by the heat…my throat felt as though it had literally burst into flames. My mouth was dry, full of venom. I needed to drink. I needed to _drink_.

The answer came, so quickly I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it before. Don't breathe. I didn't need to breathe. _Stop breathing, Isabella!_

The relief was almost instantaneous as I halted the flow of heavily scented air to my lungs. Though I could still taste the scent on my tongue and it still hazed my memory, I could now resist the previous urge to murder everyone in sight in order to satisfy my most primal instincts. For how long, I wasn't sure. _Ten, twenty, thirty minutes. Forty five. An hour. Can you survive an hour, Bella?_ I grimaced as I considered this, my eyes still trained with perfect focus onto the back of Edward Masen. My self-control was good, better than most of our kind. Still, was it worth the risk? The risk of an innocent's life, the risk of exposure for me and my family…

Without even pausing to consider it, my hand had shot up into the air. Mr Mason looked up from his desk, the shallow brown eyes behind his glasses almost alarmed as he took in my expression. "Yes, Isabella?" His hands hastily adjusted a small stack of papers on his desk, as though he were desperate to appear like he was doing something worth being paid for.

"Mr Mason, I'm not feeling well. May I please be excused?" The short speech used up most of my air supply as the words were forced through my clenched teeth. I winced internally, hoping that he wouldn't ask questions that would require elongated answers from me. That would force me to inhale, and the consequences of that would be…disastrous. I tried not to think of it as the seconds ticked by.

Fortunately, Fate or God or whatever you call it seemed to be smiling on me as he nodded absently, no doubt thinking of something completely unrelated to the class or my supposed wellbeing. "Yes, yes, sign out with Mrs Cope at the office." The words were barely out of his mouth before I'd slipped out of my seat and through the door of the class. For some reason unbeknownst to myself, I turned back as I met the tackily painted red doorframe to meet Edward Masen's face. Those green eyes were bewildered, full of confusion at my sudden departure and unreasonable need to get away from him. Then I was gone, those doors swinging noiselessly behind me as I picked up the pace.

I gulped in the air like a drowning man, feeling the cool mountain scents wash away all trace of Edward Masen's scent. It was pure relief, to have the taste gone from my nostrils and my mouth. The burn of my throat had died down slightly, though I knew I'd have to hunt tonight. My eyes would be flat black, nothing like the golden amber they'd been this morning. I sighed deeply, pulling in the breeze over my tongue as I leant against a tree and considered my options.

I knew what my family would do, how they'd react. Alice would know what was coming; she would tell me what to do based on her…extra knowledge. Jasper would side with Alice, and use whatever skill he had to calm me down. To remove the bloodlust from my bones. Emmett, my big brother…he wouldn't want me to go, I knew that much. I wasn't so sure about Rosalie. Ever since I'd been saved from that fire (my mind shivered at the thought of the second, all consuming fire used to transcend from mortal to immortal), I'd proved to be more than a slight pain to my ethereal, stubborn sister. She was used to being admired, wanted for her incomparably breathtaking beauty. For some reason, she felt that I had stolen some of the admiration meant for her. It only made me shake my head in wonder.

Slow droplets began to leak from the sky, several catching my hair and the shoulders of my violet sweater. I rolled my eyes as I moved from my position under a sparse-leafed tree to my car. Even from this distance, I winced at the way it stood out against the faded colours of the second hand cars in the lot. The brilliant blue paint job of the Audi was noticeable from a mile away, even to someone without senses as sharp as mine. I unlocked it quickly, slipping inside and placing a CD inside the player. The crushing notes of Chopin's nocturnes filled the confined space, and I closed my eyes, willing to lose myself in the music.

The sound of the door opening made me jump slightly, and Emmett's laughter echoed around the car park. The frame of the car shook with silent vibrations as he leant on it for support. I smiled at him tentatively, and switched the stereo onto mute as he clambered in.

Once inside, he turned to me, all mirth wiped clean off his pale face.

"Have you spoken to Alice?" he asked, curiosity and anxiety flavouring the low sound of his speech. I grimaced involuntarily, and he nodded to himself, like I'd just answered his question. I supposed I had.

"She left Spanish in a hurry, that's all. I saw her ditching at the end. You might want to talk to her—find out what she saw and all that…" his voice trailed off towards the end as he lost interest, his eyes seeking out the blonde hair of Rosalie as she made her way towards the car. Her eyes narrowed as she saw me, and she slid into the back seat without a word. Alice and Jasper hurried quickly across, their gait matching that of a nimble human being. It was only now that I realised that the student body was spilling across into the lot, growing like some multicoloured and tortured bloom. I caught a flash of bronze amongst the sea of black and blonde heads, but forced myself to return to the current situation. _Focus, Bella, focus!_

"You know what you're doing. Don't lose." Alice's words flowed quickly, smoothly, like a speech she'd been practising her entire life for this one moment in time. "You're strong, Bella."

My mouth set in a tight line as I shoved the car into reverse, manoeuvring my way around the various obstacles (namely students and cars). As we finally shot out of the parking lot, gaining speed with every quick rotation of the tyres, my mind relived those hurried but sincere words.

_You're strong, Bella. You know what you're doing. Don't lose._

**So what'd you think? Role reversal good or bad? If you don't like vampire Bella yet, don't worry, I didn't either at first. Just wait, she actually improves ^.^ Feedback would be much appreciated, so please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Alice's POV

**Hey all! Thanks for the encouragement, it actually means the world to me! I hope you like this chapter; it's from Alice's POV, which I thought would be a bit more interesting than the typical Bella/Edward POV thing. Yeah, I'm trying to spice things up. Plus, you get to find out a bit more about Bella's transformation! Read and review please guys, that would be wonderful!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.**

Alice

The vision in my mind was so clear, it was as though my retinas had been branded with it. The colour, the shapes, the people…Bella's eyes, glowing crimson in her perfect, immortal face. Behind her, the discarded body of Edward Masen, crushed, broken, drained of life. Of blood, that was now blazing in her eyes. I stiffened, and my hands curled involuntarily around the ruler in the desk in front of me. There was a small snap, and the wood splintered away in my fingers, leaving me with a palm full of reconstituted pulp. I stared at it blankly, not really taking in anything but the spectacular red of my sister's eyes as they glared at me from within the walls of my mind. It was so solid, so real, and yet…impossible. It couldn't be.

Emmett looked at me in alarm, his dark golden gaze flicking to my clenched hand, and the massacred ruler. Mrs Goff continued to speak, her faltering Spanish flowing around the room in an attempt to make us concentrate. I could feel the heartbeats of the humans pounding their syncopated rhythm against my motionless figure, but I took no real notice. What was more important was the idea of my sister murdering an innocent. In a classroom of witnesses, no less. She'd have to kill them too, to avoid exposure. The shocking reality clouded my mind as I glanced, horror struck, at the doorway. What class did she have now? I filtered roughly though my memories of her timetable…English. Mason. Building three. I was in seven right now, and the rooms were easily a fifteen hundred feet away from each other. But everyone was in class…could I make it if I ran? The possibilities flicked through my mind, endless possibilities, each more horrifying and nonsensical than the last.

I'd wondered at lunch what was going through her head, what crazed fantasy she'd been entertaining to conjure _that_ future into my mind. It had been almost as impossible as the one rippling though my thoughts now. Her glorious immortal body encased by warm, human arms. The breakable human boy, smiling down into her face as he leant down. Edward Masen's eyes closing as he brought his warm mouth to her cold stone lips. Her white fingers entwining in his perpetually messed hair, securing his face to hers.

It had been too staggering for me to believe, that any twist of fate could place those two together. If the current vision was anything to go by, it was nigh on impossible.

I rose from my seat quickly and almost silently. Mrs Goff turned to look at me in surprise, pausing in the middle of her monotonous speech. Her eyes took in the fervour lighting my face, and the almost desperate gleam I was sure dominated my eyes. I must have looked something wild.

"Me perdona, Signora." I murmured as I darted for the door. She stared at me for a moment, mouth hanging open, then turned to Rosalie who sat on the other side of Emmett. Even as I ran fled from the class, I could still hear her worried concerns. The doors creaked open again, and I could hear Rose's pursuing footsteps as she closed the distance between me and her.

I stopped suddenly, and she blew past me, not expecting my sudden stillness. She turned back to me in surprise, both eyebrows raised in a silent question. My eyes met hers, and I could only say one word. Nothing else would come out.

"Bella."

I could tell from her expression that she understood instantaneously. Those arched brows lowered and came together with an almost audible click, and her head turned to peruse the building to our left. Building three. Bella's class.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked quickly, her voice hard as she considered the possibilities that I had thought too horrible to entertain. Already her body was angled, primed to turn and burst into the class at a moment's notice in some desperate attempt to stop them becoming reality. Dead children, bodies, blood. Bella in the centre, the cause of it all. Our sister…

I shook my head vehemently, surprising both of us. Something had occurred to me within that tiniest stretch of time, even before it had flashed through my head in one of those vivid, startling visions I'd grown so accustomed to.

"No, she'll be out in about thirty six seconds. Wait here, Rose." My voice was chirpy, confident as always. Rosalie looked at me as though I'd gone mad, but said nothing. Nobody bothered to argue with me anymore, bar Bella on occasion.

I stared through the semi-reflective window of my sister's classroom, trying desperately to see with my eyes rather than my shaky mind. Through the dust particles swirling in the cool air, the sight of my own almost haggard reflection and the scratches on the glass, I could see Bella already seated, the desks in front of and behind her empty. Books spilled seemingly haphazardly across her table; only those closest to her would have understood the care she took to make sure that none fell from their wooden landing. She hated to see any damage done to anything carrying literary importance.

Edward Masen, the new student had entered the room about six seconds ago, his unusually coloured hair dripping from the excess condensation in the atmosphere. I could hear him laughing, and the groans and protests of others as he shook out those wet locks, spraying them liberally. Though the water wouldn't have been so far from my own temperature, it would have felt like ice to the human boys with him. He'd walk now, see Bella sitting in the seat behind his own—ahh yes, I could see his back through the glass—and would turn to swing into the chair, letting his own pile of textbooks slide across the top of his desk.

Suddenly Bella stiffened, her mouth falling open in rough astonishment as she glared at the boy who now sat in front of her. Anyone not knowing what she was would think he'd stepped on her foot with iron soled shoes. Beside me, Rosalie tensed again, her eyes focused on the same scene as mine. I held out one tiny hand, cautioning her to stay back. A low hiss slipped through her teeth, but she remained behind me. "Alice…" she said, and I could taste her desperation to prevent anything happening to Bella. Worse still, prevent anything that would force us to move again. For Rosalie, that was a punishment worse than death.

I let out a sigh of relief when Bella's hand shot straight in the air, startling the students who sat around her. Mr Mason gawked at her, his hands frozen over the pile of magazines he'd been about to arrange. Her lips moved only slightly as she voiced her wish to leave the room; she was feeling unwell. My mouth curved slightly in spite of myself. Well, that was certainly one way to put it.

The man nodded absently. Before he could even return his full attentions to his 'work', Bella bolted out the doors, leaving them swinging in her wake. I only had time to glimpse the startled expression on Edward Masen's face before they slowed, closing the gap between us and the boy who had almost brought my sister down.

She ripped though the clearing, gasping in sheer desperation to wash the scent from her mind. I doubted that she even noticed Rose and I as we stood, motionless as statues in the cool shadows cast by late spruces. Not that it particularly mattered; I'd have all the time in the world to talk to her later about whatever it was that had just happened.

Rosalie looked at me, curiosity mingling with overwhelming relief on her perfect features. The fear I'd felt momentarily at the sight of Bella had been replaced by the usual cheerfulness. I smiled widely, pulling back my lips over my teeth. Confidence is key, they said. Rose scowled at me, but behind the expression there was a kind of weak happiness in her eyes.

"Shall we?" she asked, extending one arm to me as though we were entering a masquerade ball. I shook my head, still smiling, and her face fell a little.

"No Rose. No more classes today, I think. Walk with me?" I offered. This way would be easier to patrol the area and keep an eye out for anything Bella may or may not do. I knew that she'd be hiding in her car right now, but I didn't want to take any chances should she change her mind.

Seeing my expression, Rosalie nodded stiffly. She wasn't nearly as vain and self-centred as Jasper and Bella gave her credit for; despite the outward appearance of cold disdain, she really did care for her family in a fiercely protective way.

We began our walk around the outer edges of the forest, careful to match our pace to that of the average human. No one was outside, and class didn't end for another forty seven minutes. Still, it never hurt to err on the side of caution. I sighed almost in synchronisation with Rosalie; our eyes slipped sideways at one another, and we grinned. Really, it was a gorgeous day, for us anyway. The sun was hidden behind the ever-present wall of thick cloud that kept the warmest rays from our skin. I grinned at what would happen if we ever chose to actually come to school when the sun shone freely, bright sparkles reflecting from our normally chalky pallor. Somehow, I didn't think there'd be too positive a reaction.

We circumnavigated the school grounds eight times over, our pace increasing slightly with every circuit, before the nasal buzz of the school bell finally sounded. Rose turned to look at me, that full mouth twisted into a wicked grin. I caught her drift immediately, and bent down as though about to break into a sprint.

"On your marks, get set…" I muttered under my breath, taking off the second the word 'go' began to fall from her lips. We rocketed through the dark green undergrowth, the golden head of my sister streaking slightly ahead about four feet away from me. Only when the trees became denser, with less light shining through the thick canopy, did I stop. She heard my lack of footsteps, and came around full circle in a slow jog until she stood directly in front of me. Her hands were placed on her hips, reminding me of Esme whenever we did something worth being chastised for.

"We need to turn around, Rose. Can you imagine the gossip if someone realised that we didn't leave the way we came? There'd be a search party and everything. And the press…" A faux horror-struck expression wormed its way onto my face as I stared into her eyes. "We'd be famous!" Rosalie's mouth pressed together in a thin, hard line.

"Yes, more like infamous," she said, one hand reaching out to shove me back slightly. I grinned at her, glad she'd gotten the point. She looked at me closely and sighed. "Come on, small thing. Let's get back before someone realises we're gone."

It took less than sixty two seconds to make our way back to the parking lot, even running at a speed only slightly too fast for a human. A chance dash of light sent electric blue searing into my eyes. Bella's car. Her refuge.

We slowed carefully, emerging from the trees in a manner slow enough to be normal, and inconspicuously enough to go unnoticed into the emerging stream of people. I spotted Jasper's head over the crowd, and turned to Rosalie quickly. "You go on ahead, I need to talk to Jazz." She nodded, and disappeared into the sea of human scent.

I walked towards him carefully, my speed not belying the actual concern. When he looked down and met my eyes, he smiled. It was a breathtaking expression, one I'd had more than a century to become immune to and still had yet to do so. If I'd had a moving heart, it would have stopped.

Still, it was impossible for me to ignore the worry behind the dark amber eyes. Dark amber? They were gold this morning. I frowned in disapproval as I studied him. The shadows beneath his eyes were slightly darker, though not enough for human eyes to notice. All of the flush from last week's hunting trip had disappeared, leaving his cheeks entirely white. His expression was strained slightly, as though he were putting it on for me.

"Jasper…" I began, but he held up one hand to silence me.

"Later, Alice. Please." The finality in his tone was so rigid that I knew not to argue, even if I'd wanted to. Besides, if it was something important, I'd see it before he even spoke the words. From the look on his face, he knew this too. I reached up and kissed his hard cheek, too quick for anyone not paying attention to even notice. He smiled, a ghost of the smooth Jasper Whitlock grin I was used to, and I felt my insides curl.

We'd reached the car then, and I slipped into the back seat. Bella's hands were tight on the steering wheel, her eyes focussed straight ahead as though she was in a trance. The words flew through my mind and out my mouth before I had a chance to properly consider them. Not that I ever really thought about what to say, but it seemed like it might have helped today.

"You know what you're doing. Don't lose." I watched as her eyes flickered to the rear-vision mirror, then down again. Though I knew nothing would have happened, it was still beyond relief to see them as a dark, burnt amber, closer to black than gold. This meant she was thirsty, and Edward…I tried not to think the name.

"You're strong, Bella." Her eyes closed momentarily, and one white hand ran through that thick, dark hair in an agitated movement I knew so well. My heart ached for her as I imagined what she must be suffering. _La tua cantate. _Blood that sings to you. I'd never felt it before—to my memory, only Emmett had, so very long ago. Even the thought of trying to resist something so powerful was painful; the self control that we'd all so admired within her ran deeper than we'd ever expected, it would seem.

I still remembered the day we found Bella. January twelfth, 1938.

_The sun shone brightly in Phoenix that day, even in the early morning. Carlisle had taken a job at the local hospital three weeks prior, and had left for a shift sometime around midnight. The rest of us were all internally cursing the necessity of staying inside. Rosalie had begun to protest—she had been wishing to go into town that day—before Emmett silenced her with a quick kiss. Though the enormous vampire grated on me occasionally with his eternal (and sometimes tasteless) jokes, I owed him the world for being the only one to pull Rose out of one of her tempers. _

_I sat down with Jasper on the winding staircase of our home, our hands intertwined whilst I chattered about nothing in particular. Sometime later, perhaps we could visit the row of dressmakers that ran across the eastern side of the town. Or maybe go hunting in the deserts late at night, ripping across those sandy plains with nothing but the wind and the scent of each other to distract us. He'd liked that one; the kiss planted in my hair had been evidence enough of that._

_The smell of smoke had been drifting on the winds all day, coming in from the southern borders of the sprawling city. We'd been able to ignore it for the majority of the morning, but it grew more concentrated as the day progressed, clouding the air and our senses of sight and smell. It was irritating to say the least. Eventually, I'd darted up to the window to glance out and seek the source. Yes, it was coming from the south. One of the buildings just on the outskirts of the town had gone up in flames. It must have been huge. Our house was situated about a mile out, and it would still have been obvious to any mortal choosing to look in that direction. My forehead creased with confusion; this was odd. One of the townhouses was burning, and no one had noticed? Was everyone out of town that day?_

_It hit me then, blindingly fast and vivid as always. Though I'd had almost forty years to get used to them, it was still shocking when a vision such as this appeared in my mind. Normally they were unrelated, little snatches of the future with no correlation to whatever I was thinking or experiencing at the time. This one was different._

_There was fire everywhere. Wood burnt, and the smoke rolling from the floorboards was thick, choking. In the corner of the old-fashioned room cowered a girl, her brown eyes huge with fright. The mystery girl's thick mahogany hair was limp, matted with soot and dirt from the burning debris all around her. Lips opened and let out a piercing scream for help, before being silenced by a fit of coughing and hacking as the smoke entered her lungs, suffocating her…_

"_Jazz," I hissed, the word coming out like a snarl through my clenched teeth. It was only then that I became vaguely conscious of my hand clamping down on his forearm. Panic filled his dark eyes as he looked at me, inspecting every inch of my expression. But I couldn't speak, just gazed between his eyes and the horrible death of some innocent girl that no one cared to save._

"_What, Alice, what?" he finally cried, the sound holding the same desperation as a dying man crying out for his God. It was only then that my voice returned, and my eyes met his properly._

"_Someone's out there. In that fire. She's dying. We've got to help her!"_

_Even before I'd finished, he was shaking his head, the honey hair flopping from side to side. Emmett was gazing at me like I was crazy, one arm wrapped protectively over Rosalie. _

"_No Alice, are you mad? The sun's out today, there's no way we can…" his voice had trailed off as a new possibility had sprung to mind. I saw it in my mind as he did; the pair of us weaving through the shadows of the darker side of town, avoiding the notice of anyone who would be believed._

_Gripping his arm, I'd pulled him from the room, down the hall, through the door. The sparkles of the bright sun bounced from our skin like diamonds, but for once I refused to let myself be fascinated by their beauty. My thoughts were focused on the one thing that mattered at that moment. Those terrified eyes burned in my mind, pulling me nearer as we darted through those omnipresent shadows cast by thicker trees and shoddy rundown housing._

_I could hear several things as the flames came into my vision, enveloping the old Victorian-style house so fashionable these days. All the noises came together in a kind of demented symphony in my mind—the chatter of townsfolk across the other side of the city, the crackle of flame as they licked the paint from the walls in greedy streaks. A heart, pumping erratically as the owner lost their ability to remain conscious. Without thinking properly, I plunged myself in through a collapsing side wall, Jasper's shouts of disbelief echoing after me._

_It didn't take long to find her, following the sound of her dying heart over the roar of the enraged flames. Most of the wooden section of the house had already crumbled; it looked like I'd need to scale the walls to climb up properly. The sound grew louder as I climbed, the gap between beats larger. There wasn't much time left for her, then. My head whipped from side to side as I searched frantically for this girl. The flames were scorching, making my skin tingle with pain, but I ignored it. There were more important things at the time._

_The burns were terrible. That was the first thing I noticed when I picked her up ,careful not to make contact with my ice cold, stone-like skin. It was difficult; the flames hadn't left much of her clothing left on her. Or her skin. My eyes pricked curiously, as though they wanted to tear for the first time in twenty years. Again the outrage ran through me; how had no one come her rescue? Her face, contorted in pain, was unscathed by the cruel fires. I found myself taking in every detail, every feature of the girl I'd just saved on an impulse. She was beautiful, for a human. Even covered in soot and her own blood—I'd stopped breathing the moment I'd seen her—it was impossible not to realise. _

_The girl let out a low moan, and one hand flicked up to gently touch my face. Eyes still closed, those full lips had trembled, opening slowly._

"_The burning! Make it stop, make it stop." _

_Jasper winced as I carried her out into the open; of course, he could feel her pain, as well as mine. His breath stopped too, the moment he'd seen her face. Looking down at the girl's broken body, listening to her faltering heart, the conclusion was obvious. She had two choices. We had two choices._

_Death, or death._

"_Get Carlisle."_

_The following three days had been agony, for all listening and watching. The feeling, however, was intensified for Jasper and I as we sat, never moving, hands clasped tightly. The excruciating guilt racked my mind as she shrieked, begging for us to kill her. I'd taken her from one fire, and placed her immediately into another, one far worse than anything she'd ever have or ever have to endure again. Jasper, on the other hand, burned with her. He felt my despair, Rosalie's pity for the girl she didn't know, Carlisle's anguish at the taking of another human life. I could only imagine what it was like for him, and it wasn't something I relished. I watched as the already pale skin whitened further, hardened into something more like granite than flesh. The burns disappeared, much to my relief, healing back into smooth muscle. Those tiny imperfections of her face disappeared, with every feature becoming sharper, more defined. The already long lashes became longer, thicker, surrounded huge eyes. Spectacular. I had sighed inwardly when I realised she'd be even more beautiful than Rosalie. That would not go down well._

_It was only when the heart began to race faster, stronger than ever before, that I dared breathe a sigh. It was almost over. Jasper's hand tightened on mine, and I leant into his neck. We hadn't moved from our vigil for the past three days, and why should we have? She was our responsibility. _

_The girl twitched in rhythm with the final two faltering beats of her heart as it faded to silence. Her stillness was normal as she adjusted to the absence of the most hideous pain she could ever hope to feel. We all watched her with baited breath, our eyes large and unblinkingly fixed on her motionless figure._

_Two minutes and thirty one seconds after her transformation was complete, Isabella Swan had opened her spectacular, blood red eyes to her new life. _

"Bella?" Everyone else had left the car now. Only her and I remained, those slender fingers still clamped tight on the steering wheel. Again I saw her eyes flick to meet mine; this time they held, her nostrils flaring slightly. One slender eyebrow rose, as though I was some unpleasant acquaintance. My insides turned; this wasn't Bella.

"Yes Alice?"

Only when I actually heard her voice tremble did I realize the effort she was putting into the façade. Her lower lip trembled, and I climbed through into the passenger seat effortlessly, pulling her shaking figure into my thin arms. She choked back a dry sob, and the words began to flow, too quickly to have been understood by any mortal.

"I wanted so badly to—to kill him, Alice. You have no idea, it was as though the world had ended but for this boy and me! And I knew it would get worse, the scent would grow and would cling to my clothes if I stayed too long, and I would have hunted once we got out. I couldn't have lasted an hour in there. God, I couldn't have lasted ten minutes. He would have died, and we would have had to move again." A weak, still musical chuckle fell into harmony with my own pealing of bells at her last words. "I think Rosalie would have pulled my head clean off."

Bella pulled back from me, smiling weakly. Despite the flawlessness of her face, and the bone-pale skin, it was like looking into the eyes of that human I'd saved so many decades ago. Frowning, I reached out quickly to touch the shadow beneath one of her now black eyes.

"You need to hunt, Bells. My goodness, you look like death warmed up."

She looked at me closely now, and a wicked grin crossed her face. "You're not looking too crash hot yourself, Mary Alice Brandon," she teased, ducking away before I could land a decent hit. Still laughing, I opened my door to get out, and she followed suit. Only then did I notice that the car was parked about an inch from the garage wall.

"How long had we been parked there?" I asked, making my way around the back end of the vehicle to join her on the driver's side.

"Oh, about ten minutes or so. I wasn't ready to get out, and you seemed to be enjoying your little daydream." I poked my tongue out at her, and she smiled, though curiosity plagued her eyes.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, and I felt my insides contract. She didn't need to hear it again, not today of all days.

"Just about who's going to catch the largest grizzly today," I shot back, and her eyes warmed to the challenge. Even as I said it, I could see the outcome in my mind. Bella was. Drat.

Even as we darted off towards the thick woods that surrounded our sweeping, three storey mansion, those haunting thoughts of Bella's crimson eyes and Edward Masen's broken figure danced on my vision, following me like ghosts though the approaching darkness as I sought my meal through the scents that floated on the cold wind. Bella's figure moved ahead of me, a white blur in amongst the green, and I knew that running took you away from things, as well as to them.

**Ooh! I love Alice, I really do. Plus, she turns out to be quite pivotal to this fic, so I'm sorry if she's not one of your faves. Please review, feedback (especially constructive criticism and praise) is always appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

I'd known there was going to be a problem the second my parents pulled me into our overly large, Chicago kitchen at a time closer to dawn than midnight

**Hey everyone! I just had the scariest moment of my life, and am currently hating on Toshiba laptops. Everyone knows what a blue screen is, right? Right. Well, I just got one, and when you're almost at 4000 words, it's the last thing you need when you can't remember if you saved or not :| but luckily, everything is A-OK, and we can move on with life!**

**I've been spending ridiculous amounts of time on this site recently, and I keep noticing a recurring theme with Bella getting sexually abused or raped by Mike Newton! Every time I read that it causes some very mixed emotions. Firstly, poor Bella! (I'm a very pro-Bella person, and think that she in no way needs to be subjected to Mike Newton, let alone like THAT!). Secondly, I laugh at your guys creativity. The sex scenes (whether willing or not) get more detailed as the fics progress!**

**And another thing—I'm very, VERY conservative. Ridiculously so. As a result of this, no smut in my stories. I know, it's a little bit sad, but still. The T rating is just in case, because as well as being ridiculously conservative, I'm also paranoid :)**

**Of course, thanks to everyone who favorited this story or me as an author—it really means a heap and a half—but thanks even more to those who reviewed! Seriously guys, your praise makes me go all warm and fuzzy inside :)**

**But yes, same deal goes! This chapter's from Edward's POV (I know, I had to do it), and I'd love you forever if you'd R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.**

Edward

I'd known there was going to be a change the second my parents pulled me into our overly large, Chicago kitchen at a time closer to dawn than midnight. My eyes were bleary, clogged with the sleep I hadn't been getting over the past week and was just beginning to catch up on now. _Damn late night TV specials. _Their overly bright smiles seemed forced somehow, like they were actors in a bad made-for-TV musical. I rolled my eyes and took a seat before they asked me to.

"Edward," began my dad, his tone remarkably calm and collected. He flicked a glance to my mom, who nodded once, before focusing his dark eyes on mine. I raised one eyebrow, and he cleared his throat. If I was a crueller person, I would have enjoyed the fact that he suddenly looked as comfortable as if he'd been wearing ant-infested trousers. Suddenly, I felt like I knew exactly what he was about to say. My mom had always said that I was unusually perceptive when it came to the thoughts and intentions of others. Low and behold, turns out she was right.

"Son," he tried again, this time making both brows shoot up towards my hairline. "Your mother and I have decided that it's time for a change of scenery. We've been in Chicago all your life and then some, and we think it'd be beneficial for you to get out, see a bit more of the world than just this city."

I stared at him for a moment, before turning my head slightly. "Continue?" I prompted. If I had to admit it, they'd piqued my interest. It wasn't that I didn't like Chicago; far from it, I adored the freedom that a huge city and accepting parents offered a teenager. But for some reason, the idea of moving was appealing. Something different. A challenge.

The man took a deep breath to steady himself. I frowned as I studied the new expression on his face; it could be called almost…sheepish.

"Well, we've already bought a house. In Forks, Washington. Is that alright?" my mother's voice was timid, as though she expected me to blow up at any second. The truth was, the ghost of excitement I'd felt before had turned into the real thing. Forks, Washington. That was about as far removed from fast-life Chicago as you could get. I found myself wondering what country life was like.

Smiling, I stood up to greet my parents by throwing my arms around them. My dad froze in surprise, but my mother returned the gesture, and I could feel the relief radiating from every pore. Pulling back, I grinned at them, my eyes not enough to convey what I actually felt. My mind was already racing through how long it would take me to pack away the remnants of my life and get ready for a new one on some rainy peninsula.

"So what time do we leave?"

We arrived in the tiny town around seven thirty the following morning, the one set of traffic lights blinking amber as though in welcome. People littered the sidewalk, clearly intent on soaking up what might be the last sunny day that year. Their faces were friendly enough, some even stopping to wave at the unfamiliar passing cars. Looking out the window, I couldn't suppress the grin that crept onto my face. This was going to be different.

Our house was located at the farthest end of town, taking up what had originally been two blocks of land. It was a sprawling, two storey affair, the cream coloured walls at sharp contrast with the dark red-brown tiles of the roof. My mother informed me that although the house itself was almost fifty years old, it'd been restored the past spring. The dark windows of the second floor stood out against the almost ivory of the paint job. Something about the bright red door centred directly below those two dark windows made me think of a face. A female face.

I shifted uncomfortably as I turned to help my parents heave the bags from the trunk of their black BMW. Dad and I dragged the overly-heavy suitcases to the front door, whilst my mother leant back against the car and grinned at us with lazy approval. I poked my tongue out at her, and she laughed, ruffling my hair when I got close enough. I pulled away, my features arranged into some kind of mock outrage.

"Mom! I'm seventeen, what's the matter with you? You're so embarrassing!" She just continued smiling, before a brief glance to her phone had her eyes widening in alarm.

"Edward Anthony Masen, you've got to get to school! It's almost eight thirty! Don't worry about those, your father can finish carrying them in." He shot her an incredulous glance, but she waved him off as she hurriedly pushed me towards my shiny car. "Go, go!"

The high school in Forks was a smaller than the gymnasium at my Chicago school. It was a haphazard collection of red brick buildings, with only the large sign proclaiming FORKS HIGH a give away to what it actually was. I pulled into the lot, my silver Volvo sliding in neatly amongst the patchwork of colours leant by the second hand cars of the school's students and teachers. Sighing, I checked the time on my phone. 8:38. Fantastic, I was late. Nothing out of the ordinary, I supposed. Deciding it would be more beneficial to actually know where I was, I pulled out the hurriedly drawn map with my mother's notes scrawled across the top. I had Spanish first, in building eight. Knowing my luck, that'd be the furthest from where I'd just parked my damn car.

I got out, and hurried along the winding walkways that twisted like veins in between the red-brick constructions comprising the school. It didn't take me long to find the place, though the stares I gained when I entered made me wish I'd missed the period altogether. Murmuring my name to the astounded Mrs Goff, I took the only available seat at the back of the room next to a blonde boy with over-gelled hair. Whilst the woman called the roll, he introduced himself as Mike Newton, even reaching over to shake my hand. It was strange—how did he know I wasn't diseased?—but I reached back, offering a smile of my own. For some reason, I didn't think that he was genuinely interested in being a friend of mine; despite maintaining conversation with me throughout the rest of the lesson, his eyes kept darting towards a slender blonde in the second row. So I was a way to become friendly with the girls? I could deal with that. It was much easier deciding on friends when you understood their real motives.

The minutes snailed by as we went over the very basics of the Spanish adverbs. I sighed deeply as I thought of the endless lessons my parents had put me through as a child. My fluency in four languages meant that I was still forced to take at least one as an elective, but unfortunately resulted in my own mastery of the dialect being superior to whoever was teaching me. Instead, I let myself sink into some kind of dream-like place in my mind, away from the gentle tedium of learning something I already knew.

Mike's one ended chatter continued through the break between classes, Biology and Government. It was easy to keep up; he only seldom required a proper answer from me, and was for the most part appeased with the smiles and nods I offered. He introduced me to his friends as they appeared in the various classrooms I found myself in. The blonde, standoffish girl from Spanish was Lauren Mallory, and a short girl with dark corkscrew hair in Biology was Jessica. She'd given Mike a smile, and me a suggestive glance that trailed along the length of my body, before a wink completed our thankfully brief interaction. I wasn't used to anyone being this forward, female or otherwise; anyone more timid than me would have been intimidated.

Mike talked through Spanish. He talked through Biology. He talked through Government, and continued talking ridiculously fast whilst we stood in the line for our food. The words flowed fast as he picked up his food, as I paid for mine, as we walked back to sit down with the rest of our 'friends'. Though I was sure they were nice enough to him, most of the vibes I gathered from them—in particular Lauren Mallory—weren't all that friendly. These I could handle with ease; it was the more alarming, too-friendly waves coming from Jessica Stanley that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat. Still, I found that I liked the quietly funny Ben Cheney, who turned out to be in my Trigonometry class, and his kind girlfriend Angela Weber.

Sitting here, surrounded by people I barely knew who were talking like they'd known me a lifetime, was where I first saw them.

They were sitting on one of the far tables, one closest to the door. There were five, three girls and two boys. Each of them sat perfectly still, staring off in different directions as though nothing could possibly draw their attention to the present day. Before all of them sat a tray of untouched food. Of the boys, one was enormous. He was sheer muscle, built like a serious weight lifter, and would have been easily as tall as me had he been standing. Dark curls gave his face a kind of innocence that I instinctively knew was deceptive. The other was leaner, still muscular, with a kind of hungry look to his expression. Mussed blonde hair flopped every which way. His fingers worked to pull a bread roll to pieces with a cool kind of disdain, as though it were a person he was tearing to shreds. A shiver ran down my spine involuntarily as I continued to study them.

Beside the blonde male sat a tiny girl, her features thin in the extreme. Short black hair stuck out at angles, and looked for the most part untameable. I grinned as I compared it to my own inherently messy style. Her wide dark eyes were fixed upon his face, and it looked as though her mouth was moving, though the words were too low for me to pick up from this distance. There was a blonde girl facing half away from me, her hair hanging loose to the middle of her back. That figure was a knockout, even if I did say so myself. It was difficult to tear my eyes from it to appraise the final member of this strange group.

She sat beside the pixie-like creature I'd noticed before, her mahogany hair falling in a thick curtain on either side of her pale, heart shaped face. Pale. That was one word for it. Her skin was white, so light I'd wondered if she or her family had ever even seen the sunlight; they too shared the same chalky pallor.

Even from here, I could tell that those features were perfect. Full lips, straight nose, huge dark eyes. My eyes flickered from face to face; yes, they were all devastating. Even the guys. For the millionth time, I was glad that no one could read my thoughts.

My eyes returned to her face, though; it was like trying to keep magnets apart. She was easily the most beautiful of the lot, even outshining that striking blonde I'd seen before. It was hard to remember that there were others jostling for my attention, when all I wanted to do was give it to her.

Those dark eyes turned up, suddenly, locking in with my own. She stared at me, unabashed, and I found myself unable to look away from that penetrating gaze. A jolt in my stomach was my cue to turn away. _Turn away; face the other way, Masen. Talk to the nice people._ Her eyes were as curious as my own though, making it nigh on impossible…

The mention of my name brought me back to the present era. I turned to the boy nearest to me; I thought his name was Ben. "Who's the girl with the long, dark hair?" I asked, my mind still fully focused on that table of

Ben turned to see who I was talking about, then blushed furiously and turned away. I guessed he'd made eye contact with her too.

"That's Isabella Cullen." His voice was steady, despite the obvious embarrassment. Isabella. Beautiful. It fit. "The small, dark haired girl is Alice Cullen, the boy next to her is Jasper Hale. Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen are on the other side." My gaze was redirected to the enormous Emmett as he turned to look at the blonde beside him. It was all the more intimidating to be able to put a name to the menacing bands of muscle that wrapped the boy's arms and torso. "They're the adoptive family of Dr Cullen and his wife. Dr Cullen works at the local hospital." The last name rang a bell, and I began to search frantically through my memories. My mother, had she mentioned something last night…?

One of the girls I recognized from my Spanish class—Jessica—leant over towards me with a giggle, her corkscrew curls bouncing with her joy at spreading a piece of gossip. "They're all together, though—Emmett and Rosalie, and Alice and Jasper I mean. And they live together." Her voice was a curious combination of disdain, condemnation and anticipation as she waited eagerly for my reaction. _Emmett and Rosalie. Alice and Jasper. _My eyes travelled unconsciously to rest on Isabella, noting with a start that her gaze was still trained on my face. There was something new to her expression—speculation danced behind those dark eyes. I looked away quicker this time, experience teaching me what would happen if I remained trapped in those eyes for too long.

I must have disappointed; Jessica pouted a little, leaning back until she was situated in her seat comfortably. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see where Mike Newton's eyes were trained, and my mind was full of wry disgust for both of them. Both seemed like suitably shallow people. They were perfect for each other.

A boy who might have been called Tyler turned to me, a wicked gleam in his eyes as though he'd just come up with the perfect plan for my demise. I eyed him speculatively, already with a rough idea of what he was going to ask me.

"So Eddie," he began jovially, clapping one hand on my shoulder with the use of my most despised nickname, "seen anything you like yet?" He followed this up and a wide grin, and I was certain that by _thing_ he meant _one_. Lauren and Jessica burst into a volley of giggles, whereas Angela smiled at me in sympathy. I glanced at them, before rolling my eyes at Tyler.

"I've been here for how many hours?" I joked, neatly sidestepping the question as my thoughts returned to Isabella Cullen once more. One of my hands reached up to peel his from my shoulder; he looked thoroughly disappointed that I hadn't confessed my secret admiration for any of the foolish girls who were part of this mediocre little group. If I was honest, they all did too.

"Bell's gone." Angela's quiet voice sounded, and for one crazed moment I thought she'd guessed about my ridiculous scrutiny of Isabella. Could it be a nickname? Did people who looked like that even _have_ nicknames? Then my ears registered the nasal droning of something they apparently considered a siren. Oh. Literally, the bell's gone. Thank God for that.

Students were all headed out the single set of doors, reminding me of multicoloured bathwater swirling down a plug hole. The image made me grin as I balanced my books precariously against my chest, trying not to drop them on the hard floor of the cafeteria. I had English with Mason, in building seven according to my timetable. It was raining outside, but I was in no real hurry; I liked the weather. Many of the others felt differently, quickly donning their rainjackets in an attempt to keep their hair dry. I smiled at the thought of what Mike's hair would look like if anything wet even came close to it.

Angela walked with me, along with Tyler and Mike, talking quietly with questions I felt more inclined to answer than the almost vulgar ones that had stemmed from the jovial males jostling behind us. She was a nice person, and it seemed only right to respond in kind. I smiled and held the door open for her, and she uttered her thanks, before disappearing into the small dark room I assumed would be my class.

I walked in quickly, waiting for Mike and Tyler to come through the doors and hang their jackets up. Smiling wickedly, I bent over and shook my head, spraying them both with the spoils of my wet hair. Tyler swore playfully at the dark drops that now pattered the from of his jumper, and Mike grimaced as he leapt out the way to avoid the shower. Tyler slapped me on the back as we made to move, the two of them walking to take their regular seats on the other side of the room. I scanned the room quickly, searching for an available desk. A clear space three rows back drew my eyes, I took a step towards it, then by instinct looked at the person who would be sitting behind me for the remainder of the lesson. Perhaps I could make friends.

Isabella Cullen was already seated, her dark hair spilling down from her crown and over her shoulders like some mahogany waterfall. Her books were splayed haphazardly across the top of her desk, a notebook already opened and filled with what looked from here to be perfect cursive. Her eyes, like before, were already trained on my face when I finally chose to glance her way. My mouth fell open a little as my heart pounded against my ribcage, though not from shock or horror. More simply, it felt like I lacked the ability to hold it closed any longer.

The girl smiled at me warmly, and I felt like my heart would stop altogether.

As I reached out to grab the edge of my chair, those dark eyes became flat, filled with a shock so great it was as though she'd been electrocuted. Isabella glared at me, the hatred rolling from her in waves. I glanced quickly down at my feet as I swung into my chair; was I standing on one of hers? No, that wasn't it.

The moment I sat down, I heard the slightest ruffle of cloth, as though a hand had shot up immediately. The man I assumed was Mr Mason looked up from his desk, and I had no doubt what was coming next.

"Yes, Isabella?"

"Mr Mason, I'm not feeling well. May I please be excused?"

A voice like that should not exist. Scrap that, it _could_ not exist. It was the purest music, the dulcet tones of an archangel's joyous singing. The notes bounced from the ceiling, filling the dull room with light if only for a second.

Then he nodded absently, and the moment was gone. "Yes, yes, sign out with Mrs Cope at the office." The words were barely out of his mouth before she'd scooped up her belongings and fled for the door. Even in her haste, grace didn't begin to describe the way that she moved. It was as though gravity was something she only tolerated. As she blew past me, some delicious scent that I couldn't put a name to flavoured the air, making my mouth water.

Isabella paused at the door, if only for a moment, and turned back to glance at me, her eyes full of the same revulsion I'd seen in them before. There was something else though, in the twist of that mouth—regret? Or was I imagining it because I wanted there to be?

And then she was gone, leaving only that heavenly scent and swinging doors behind her.

I stared at the door as it closed between us, my mind frantically trying to conjure reasons for her leaving in such a hurry. I hadn't stepped on her foot. Did I smell bad? Had something I said offended her? It took a couple of moments to realise that I hadn't said a word to her yet. Then I remembered her words to Mr Mason. "_I'm not feeling well. May I please be excused?_" Hmm. Perhaps she really did feel sick, and it had nothing to do with me.

Mike and Tyler shot me meaningful glances as I returned to the current era, blinking as though I'd been asleep for a few hours. I caught Tyler's eye, and wished instantly that I hadn't; he winked, and mouthed 'talk to you later' when Mr Mason's back was turned. I stifled a groan, and put forward extra dedication to taking down notes on things I already knew. _Bronte, Wilde, Shakespeare_. Fairly basic—I'd already read everything on the list, twice in some cases. My mind sunk into pleasanter thoughts, of returning to my piano and slamming the keys down in some dark melody. Something new began to create itself inside my mind; a lighter tune, perfectly complementary of the deep notes of my previous tune. I blocked out the whispers of my classmates and the drone of the teacher, and considered this new symphony.

"Edward? Earth to Edward? You there, man?" Tyler's deep voice broke through my reverie, his expression caught between worry and amusement. I jumped, startled, looking around me hurriedly. The classroom was slowly emptying of students; apparently the final bell had gone whilst I'd been lost inside a cloud of music. Huh.

Mike grinned at me, his mirth written clean across his face. I resisted the temptation to close my book on that smug expression; instead, I pushed myself out of my chair, shoving my textbooks into the dark leather satchel my mother had insisted on me carrying. I winced slightly as I heard a page tear, but decided not to act on it until I made it to my car. As we walked to the lot through the light drizzle, Mike and Tyler began talking about something this weekend. A movie.

"So Edward, you in?"

I blinked, startled to be addressed ."Sorry, what?"

"I said, are you in?" Mike was careful to enunciate the words perfectly. I gritted my teeth, more from anger than embarrassment. Just because I wasn't paying attention didn't mean I was slow.

"Yeah, we're headed out to see _Crosshairs_ on the weekend in Port Angeles. Supposed to be a real blast, action and guts galore." I couldn't help wincing at his overly excited tone. He sounded like a kid in a candy store.

I forced a smile onto my face in a lame attempt at enthusiasm. "Sure, sounds great. What time…?"

"Just get to my place at whenever. We'll be taking my mom's Suburban because there's so many going." The thought of spending almost an hour in a car with Mike, Tyler, Jessica and Lauren made me wince slightly, and a new plan formed in my head instantaneously.

"Actually, do you mind if I take my car? My parents want me to get the idea of where to go around this place, so I don't accidentally take a back road and end up in Alaska one day." The lie slid smoothly off my tongue—my sense of direction was perfect, and my parents had said nothing of the kind. Tyler's face fell a little, but Mike seemed content with this. Less competition for the girls, I guessed.

By the time we'd reached the parking lot, my hair was soaked again, evidence of my refusal to take a raincoat to school. The cool didn't bother me; on the contrary, it was refreshing against my too-hot forehead. Maybe I was getting a fever or something.

The car park was filled with students of all ages, their multicoloured clothing meaning that finding my Volvo was more difficult than finding a shop assistant when you needed one. I considered using the automatic unlock button on my keys briefly, if only to escape Mike and Tyler, but my eyes were caught by a flash of colour. My gaze shifted, and my mouth fell open as I spied easily the most lust-worthy car in the place. The electric blue R8 sat between an antique minivan, and…a silver Volvo. My car. I shook my head as I sauntered over, thoughts still filled with longing. How could I have missed that when I pulled in this morning?

Someone was sitting in the vehicle. I could see that as I drew closer. The shape of the face was decidedly feminine, even behind the heavily tinted glass. It looked as though they were arguing with someone in the passenger side, their hands moving frantically as they tried to make whatever point they had. My eyes narrowed as I studied the driver, trying to make out any individual, discernible features…

The car backed out suddenly, as though the girl had simply been waiting for me to get close enough to leave. I watched as it exited the lot, gaining speed as the tyres flew over rough bitumen road. Call me crazy, but I could have sworn that there was a flash of mahogany behind those dark windows.

Sighing deeply for reasons unbeknownst even to myself, I unlocked my car and got in.

The ride home was frustratingly slow as my foot twitched for more gas every hundred feet or so. Even the calm notes of Debussy couldn't break whatever temper I'd managed to work myself into. Green after green, with occasional flashes of brown whipped past as I gazed unseeingly through the front windscreen. In the space of a single day, I'd managed to be extremely late, gain two very unwanted shadows (I cringed mentally at the thoughts of Mike and Tyler) and see the most beautiful girl I'd ever set eyes on. Said girl now hated me for some reason beyond my logic and I apparently had plans for Friday night.

How depressing.

**Ok, this chapter was originally immense (I'm talking 16/17 pages here, people!) so I've split it up into two for my own sanity. So what do you guys think of Edward so far? He's a lot happier as a human than a vampire, which I quite enjoy writing :) Review, please—I'd love to be able to get to at least twenty before I post my next chapter!**

**Oh, and for all of those wondering if Mike is going to play a slightly bigger part in this tale? Yes, yes he is. But no, there'll be no sexual assault or anything of the kind; either Bella or Edward would pummel him if he tried :)**

**So yes, review and I'll bake you cookies!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey team! Yes, this is the second half of Edward's epically long chapter! First of all, a huge thankyou to everyone who reviewed and added me to their favorite authors, or this to their favorite stories! It makes my heart swell with joy :)**

**To address a couple of points raised by my wonderful reviewers (you guys rock!) Yes, so far nothing new really has happened. I'm just working on establishing the kind of characters that each of these guys are, and their relationships/POV. Thanks for sticking with it, you'll be getting some action soon, I promise!  
Secondly, thanks for the compliments on the role reversal. I know Bella seemed like a bit of a bitch in the first chapter, but she begins to come out of her shell a bit more in this one. Trust me on this one :)  
So, same deal as always, read and review! Especially if you're going to add this to your favorite stories or authors or whatever, even one or two words is appreciated. Every little bit helps :D  
Oh, and a huge thankyou to Forever-Aurelie, who manages to make me laugh with their reviews. Thanks for the support!  
So, on with the show!**

Edward

I pulled in to my parents house, feeling oddly dejected. Maybe it was the weather, or the fact that I'd somehow made an enemy for myself on the first day of a new school. No, probably the weather. Glancing up out of my car's window, I saw those blank windows staring down at me. The light in one of them was on, but flickered suddenly, giving the impression that the house had just winked at me. The same shudder ripped through me, and I made my way quickly up to that gaping red mouth of a door, stepping hurriedly over the threshold.

My mother poked her head out from the kitchen, the expression on her features warm and welcoming. "Hello Edward!" she called, her voice matching the picture her facial expression had created.

"Hey Mom," I replied as I hurried up the staircase. Pausing, I retuned to the base to look at her. "My room's upstairs, right?" She nodded, bemused, and I continued to move up the creaking wooden stairs.

The second floor was exactly as I'd anticipated; it looked like it belonged in an earlier century. The floorboards creaked under my weight, though not in a way to make me feel that I'd fall through them if I walked. Perhaps if I jumped up and down, but I didn't think I'd ever really care to test that theory. My bedroom was large, spacious, with my old double bed already set up beneath a sliding window. It was comforting, to see something the same; it made me feel like I hadn't been completely uprooted from everything I knew. But then, hadn't that been the point of the exercise? The conundrum spun around in my head as I dumped my books on my desk, settling myself down to do some work.

Hours passed, the dull light fading to a grey kind of darkness. I switched on my desk lamp about an hour after starting my Trig work (the one subject I wasn't ahead for), watching as the numbers and equations jumped out at me from the page. My mother's voice carrying up the stairs ("Edward Anthony Masen, you get down here for dinner right now!") sent relief searing through me, and I all but ran from the room.

As I descended the stairs and pulled into the overly large hallway, I could smell the aroma of basil and oregano filling the house. My mouth watered as I walked into the large kitchen. My mom and dad were already seated with their bowls in front of them. Bolognaise. I sat down quickly, wanting to shovel the still steaming food into my mouth and be done with it. My stomach growled impatiently, and my dad snorted. I grinned at him as my mother bent her head to say grace.

"So Edward, how was your first day?" Elizabeth Masen asked as she passed her husband the salad bowl. I smiled, indicating with my hands that I had a mouth full of food. She set down her fork and waited for me to finish.

I swallowed hard before I opened my mouth. "It was alright, I guess. I made friends with a kid called Mike and another one called Tyler. The girls are friendly, some in particular." Well, apart from one, but it didn't seem really right to go into it right now.

Dad nodded slowly as he chewed, his eyes filled with an understanding. "Yes, I know what you mean. Back when we were in highschool…" his words finished as Mom's hand came down sharply on his arm with a resounding thwack!

"Ed, don't do that! You'll embarrass the poor boy," she said, as I watched her own cheeks turn a faint pink. The colour brought back memories of arguments back in Chicago, which usually ended in my parents kissing and me pretending to retch into the nearest vase. Nothing had really changed then, aside from a geographical relocation. I smiled, and returned to my dinner with renewed vigour.

A question from earlier that day popped into my head as I helped with the dishes that night. My mother's hands worked furiously under the water as she scrubbed clean every piece of crockery used that night. I dried them mechanically, my mind thinking of other, more important things.

"Mom? Who're the Cullens?"

My mother turned to look at me, surprise in her eyes. Her hand paused, then returned to the vigorous cycles as she answered. "Dr Cullen works at the local hospital. I used to work with his wife Esme when we did interior designing. Lord knows I hadn't seen either of them for years—it was one of the reasons I wanted to move down here when I heard where they were living. I wasn't aware I'd mentioned them at all. Why do you ask?"

Of course I'd known this was coming. I ducked my head, focussing on the dull gleams of light that reflected from the soap suds. "No reason. Their kids are in the same grade as me, that's all." My mother didn't need to know about the beautiful girl who'd looked at me with such hatred in her eyes in English.

Mom looked at me briefly, not entirely satisfied with my answer. I stared straight back at her whilst my hands continued to dry; I was a practised liar for when I needed to be, and refused to be stared down. Only incompetent liars looked away first.

Finally she shrugged, and relief coursed through my veins. Nothing more would come of it, at least not tonight.

The school days passed quickly, with no real defining features to them apart from the fact that it was unseasonably sunny. I'd discovered that I was ahead in almost every class thanks to accelerated learning in Chicago, and thus kind of lazed through most periods, dreaming of sunlight and my slowly developing piano composition. As always, I wondered exactly how the students here managed without music as an optional elective. It was practically killing me.

There was another part to my dissatisfaction, one that I was somewhat less easy about, and far less likely to actually admit to. The table nearest the doors had been empty for three days, and my curiosity seemed to grow exponentially with every absent hour. I thought about the tiny Alice and the way her eyes had been so trained on the intimidating Jasper. My mind kept remembering the way Emmett's muscular arm had been thrown so casually over Rosalie's shoulders, shoulders that should by all means have drooped under their weight. And of course, I thought about her. Isabella. Those two expressions that I'd seen, both exquisite in their opposition. One curious, smiling, gentle, and the other…flat. Dark. Filled with hatred. They could have been completely different people, for her sudden change in demeanour. It was like having a light switched off behind a window.

The bad weather returned finally on Friday, with rain predicted for the latter half of the afternoon. My eyes glazed over in Spanish and Biology, staring at the board like a zombie. There was nothing new yet, and I was almost enjoying that I was able to relax in most of my periods. The questions were easy enough, and most of my teachers sensed that I knew more than my classmates. Possibly more than them, too.

A spring dance was on the horizon. Girl's choice. It was all Mike and Tyler had been talking about for the week as we walked between classes, to lunch, during lunch, after school. Today was no exception; their incessant chatter was beginning to wear away at my patience when we walked through the doors of the cafeteria. My eyes took in the brightly coloured flags that hung along the row of windows, and the already full table of our group waiting for us. Jessica waved particularly enthusiastically at me and Mike, before an irate Lauren reached up and pulled her down. She whispered something in the curly-haired girls ear, before her eyes flickered to a seemingly empty space behind us. Jessica's eyes widened in understanding as we went to take our place in the line. I felt my stomach roar, and Tyler's laughter carried around the room. I smiled half-heartedly as I filled my tray with food, only the fact that I had yet to pay stopping me from eating right then and there.

Turning around, my eyes automatically slipped over every table within my vision, as though I was searching for someone I knew in a crowd of strangers. Today, it was the opposite; my eyes sought the stranger amongst the too-familiar faces.

My heart jolted as I saw the Cullen and Hale's usual table, empty but for one person. She smiled when I saw her, and winked. The gesture was unmistakable.

I studied her as I got closer. Her face seemed…different. The dark shadows I'd seen under her eyes on our first, disastrous meeting were all but vanished. That thick, shiny hair was half pulled back, leaving the rest to spill down the back of a crimson sweater. Her eyes…were not black. Far from it; today they were a deep kind of gold that appraised my every movement.

I swallowed hard as I sat down, making the items on my tray wobble. She saw this and smiled. I resisted the crazy urge to reach out and trace my fingers along those perfect lips, interlocking my hands beneath the table. _Behave yourself, Edward Masen._

"Hello," I began, hoping to somehow elicit a response from her. She continued smiling, but said nothing. Frustration mingled with the curiosity in my head as I looked, first at her, then at my tray. My hunger seemed to all have dissipated in her presence.

I tried again. "Where's your family?" She looked around herself then, as though surprised to see them missing. I laughed, and that smile widened.

"Not here today. I suppose they thought it better to start the weekend early." That angel's voice sounded again, making my head ring a little in its perfection. She grimaced slightly, but I thought better than to comment on it.

"And you?" I asked, curious to understand why she was here. Curious, actually, to learn everything I could about her. unlike the rest of the people here, most of whom I'd learnt more about than I ever wanted to know, she was a perpetual mystery.

She raised her eyebrows at my question. "I…decided to be good. For once." Her mouth curved upwards at a secret joke that I wasn't invited to be a part of. I frowned, and the smile turned into a full blown grin. I smiled in response; it would have been impossible not to.

Glancing down, I noticed the empty tray in front of her. My eyes returned to her face. "Aren't you hungry?"

Bella let out a single burst of mirth as her golden eyes flicked to the tray in front of me, loaded with food. "No, most definitely not." Again with the inside jokes. It would have annoyed me, with anyone else. With her, it was simply fascinating.

"Still, you should eat something. I mean, after all, you're a growing girl," I joked, pushing an apple towards her. She looked at it, something like distaste colouring her features if only for a moment.

"Trust me, I'm fine." I wondered if I would ever get used to the feel of that voice against my skin, against my ears. Still, I'd persevere.

"Don't get me wrong Bella, but you look so…"I thought for a moment whilst searching for the right word "…fragile."

She looked at me incredulously, before throwing back her head and laughing. Great. Six minutes into a conversation, and she's already laughing at me. The sound travelled around the comparatively bland cafeteria like pealing bells; I could have drowned in its luxuriance, right then and there.

Bella turned to face me. There was still a slight smile on her lips, but her golden eyes were serious again. I felt my stomach lurch, but held my ground.

"Fragile? No, Edward, that's you—r mother's prized vases. Fragile is glass windows. I'm the farthest thing from fragile," that beautiful mouth pursed slightly as it spoke the word, "you can ever get."

Triumph shot through my mind at the revelation she'd so kindly thrown my way. Over the past few days, I'd come to guess that she wasn't the same as everyone else I knew. I wondered if she knew that I'd noticed her slip. Something in me sensed a challenge, and I met her eyes firmly, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Prove it, then."

Something like surprise flitted across those perfect features, hastily rearranged into a perfect mask of composure. "Later."

The single word held promises I was sure to be broken in favour of secrecy, but I'd hold her to it. I'd follow her home if I had to. Hell, if I was honest with myself, I'd follow her to the ends of the earth and back, even if I didn't have to.

"Later," I agreed, my eyes focused entirely on hers. Even as I watched, they melted, becoming warm and molten beneath my gaze. My heart stuttered, and she grinned widely, like she'd heard the broken rhythm. _Damn_.

"So why'd you call me over? I've never seen you…" my words trailed off as I considered what I had been about to say. Sit with anyone other than your family? Eat food? Look as gorgeous as you do today? What, boy, what?

She looked thoughtful, like my convoluted, nonsensical words had provoked some kind of deep consideration of life. "I suppose I just wanted to apologise for the other day. It was incredibly rude of me to act that way. Forgive me?" With those final words, a smile so glorious it almost hurt lit up her face.

By some small grace, I remembered how to talk. And also how to tease. Playing idly with the rim of my soda bottle, I looked at her solemnly.

"I don't know. It was really horrible. Do I get an explanation?"

Pure shock filled her eyes, followed instantly by hurt. She looked down at the table then, mouth trembling slightly as though she were about to cry.

"I don't think you'd want to hear it," she whispered, the sound broken. "And even if you did, you wouldn't believe me."

The words fell out before I could stop them. "I'd believe anything you said, Isabella Cullen."

Her head jerked up at the use of her full name, and she studied me carefully, a new emotion mixing with those already dancing behind topaz eyes. Her white hand began to tap lightly on the table, its complicated rhythm reminding me of something else I'd heard earlier. A melody. My unnamed composition.

"How would you know that, Edward?" she replied, her voice hard. Even so, the sound of my name coming from between those lips made me shiver internally. "We don't even know each other." A flicker of something I couldn't name shot behind those dark topaz irises. Regret, maybe? Could we not be friends? The idea made me sad, though for what reason I couldn't guess. Probably just the weather making me emotional again.

Common sense made me speak. "Because I don't make a point of calling people I barely know liars," I pointed out bluntly, and her eyes warmed again. "People I do know, on the other hand…" my gaze flicked to Mike Newton, who was watching me in blatant astonishment. Bella grinned, and I could only guess she'd seen him too. Her eyes dropped to study the design on the table, long fingers tracing the nonsensical patterns carved into its plastic surface. The silence wasn't good enough; I wanted to hear her speak.

"So I hear there's a dance coming up." Oh traitorous mouth, why do you speak so? Though I guessed it was as good a conversation starter as any. She looked at me like I'd grown another head, and I mentally slapped myself.

"And?" she prompted gently, looking like she was fighting the urge to laugh. I was secretly glad that I hadn't inherited my mother's propensity to blush at any given moment.

"Are you going?" The words sounded sulky, even to my ears, and the hint of mirth behind those eyes became the real thing as she laughed again. For some reason, I wondered if there was anyone she was interested in at this school. If so, I'd have to meet him and shake his hand sometime.

Finally breaking free of her giggles, she appraised me, the grin allowing the light to sparkle off those brilliant white teeth. "No, I'm not," she admitted. "Are you?"

I shook my head, trying to appear remorseful. Judging by her expression, I wasn't doing too well. "No. Don't you need to be asked?" She nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful again.

"And you haven't been yet? I would have thought that Jessica or Lauren might have flattered you with the grace of their company." The words weren't entirely sarcastic as she watched my face for any reaction to the names. There was something off about the way she spoke. It was gentle, too soft-spoken for the brashness of today's teenagers. Then again, I was raised polite. Perhaps she was as well.

I snorted at the idea of either of those two harpies wanting to spend their time with me. Luckily they seemed quite focussed on Mike and Tyler as their next victims. Good. They were all perfect for each other. Bella looked fascinated at this outburst; her eyes widened, and those full lips curved a little, as though she was hiding a secret.

The bell rang, startling both of us. That nasal sound never failed to make my head ring, and I said this to her before realising how strange it must sound. To my relief, she laughed, standing it a movement so fluid it couldn't have been performed by a human, except in some graceful ballet. "Come on, we're going to be late." My mind went blank when she said the word 'we'. Oh right, English. As we walked from the cafeteria, I realised that I'd left my tray, food untouched, on the table where we'd been sitting. _Damn._

Not wanting to be caught by the curious people who I'd come to sit with regularly, I hurried to keep up with Bella's fluid, quick pace. Her hair swung, releasing a concentrated burst of that delicious scent I'd caught when she'd hurried past me on Monday. Unconsciously, I leant in slightly, inhaling deeply. There were no words to describe it, other than possibly euphoria.

She turned to face me as we reached the door. A wicked grin was in place on her features, but it seemed almost forced. Like it was a struggle to enter this dull, uninteresting room. I guess I could understand that.

"Here goes," she muttered, more to herself than me. I smiled reassuringly, though I wasn't really sure that she saw it as I reached around to push the door open for her. Bella took a deep breath through her nose—did she just shudder?—and walked through the doorway.

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**Dun dun duuuuuuun! So they're back when this whole saga picked up; who knows what'll happen? Well actually, I do, and you guys will know a lot faster if you review. Seriously though, it actually helps me write me know what you thought of this one, any suggestions for next chapter**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiya guys! I spent most of my Halloween writing fanfic for you kids, you you got some candy :) a chapter from each story! Yay!**

**Now, some more queries on things I haven't cleared up yet:**

**Firstly, Bella does have a power. It's kinda like the one in the books, but it's got another dimension to it. the only reason you guys don't know is because we haven't gotten to anywhere she needs to use it yet :) I've been asked this a couple of times, but I just kept forgetting to ask it. You'll find out in about…two chapters time? Maybe?**

**Secondly, she's NOT in love with Edward yet. Bella doesn't become a crazy stalker who sits in Edward's room while he sleeps: at least, that's not how I pictured her. She's just trying to be polite and kind when she apologizes for what happened. Sorry if I disappoint :)**

**Also! I finally got to twenty reviews! Thanks so much! Can we try for maybe…thirty? I'm setting myself goals that I need you guys to fulfil :P**

I don't know quite what prompted me to go to school that day. The rest of my family were remaining at home for the day; Esme, Emmett and Rosalie were going hunting, whilst Carlisle took a shift at the hospital, and Alice and Jasper caught up on their reading. I could have pretended it was obligation—did we not have a duty to be seen in our everyday charade of humanity?—but the smarter, more shrewd part of my mind knew it was something more than that. Alice did too. Her eyes had continued to shift between vague and aware as she'd searched the future that night. Every so often, she'd snuck a glance at me, her expressions varying between curiosity and horror. I wondered what I could be doing in the murky, not-so-distant future to provoke such a reaction. Part of me didn't want to know.

I arrived late—closer to lunch than first period—claiming that I'd slept in through my alarm in a manner than seemed appropriately hurried and apologetic. I snorted an internal _ha!_ when Mrs Cope became flustered, telling me that it was perfectly fine. Her eyes became slightly unfocused, as though she'd taken her thick glasses off to look at me. I smiled, and her breathing hitched a little. It never ceased to amaze me, the shallowness of these warm-blooded, delicious beings. As a human, I'd known nothing of their thoughts and motives, what they prized and what they shunned. I'd thought everyone was good and worthy. Now, I'd seen a lot more of life. I knew what lay within their hearts.

The bell for the end of fourth period sounded as I was halfway to the classroom. I froze for a moment, before turning and almost running towards the cafeteria. Human pace, of course. I couldn't risk any curious student looking out their window as they left the class and seeing me running full speed. It would raise too many questions.

I burst through the doors with such force that they swung into the walls, shuddering as they bounced back. One of the cafeteria workers looked up in alarm, but her eyes were quickly averted when she saw who it was.

It was the strangest thing, as I sat there in that white wash room. I remembered my sudden, inexplicable desire that morning to do something different with my hair. Humans looked different all the time; for the first time in my existence, I wanted to as well. My thin, white hands had scraped my thick hair back from my face, pinning half of it into a glossy top-knot. Alice had raised a single eyebrow as I'd grabbed my schoolbag before leaving the house, but she said nothing. I didn't know if I was grateful or annoyed; grateful that she didn't make a fuss, or annoyed that no one seemed to notice that I'd actually put some care into how I looked. Not that I needed it; physical perfection comes with the job description of being a vampire. Still, it might have been nice…

The slow influx of students began, their hearts all beating quickly with excitement at the coming snow. Apparently there was some kind of dance coming up. Girls choice, thank god. My mind again flickered to Mike Newton, and I hoped fervently that either Jessica Stanley or some other groupie of his had already asked for his company at the boring dance. I'd hate to have him resting his popularity hopes on being able to secure a 'hot Cullen' for it; it'd be such a let down for him.

After what seemed like an age, my eyes caught a flash of bronze above the crowd. Hope soared in my chest; perhaps I'd be able to set things right. After all, it had been abominably rude for me to flee from the boy's presence without giving any explanation for why. I could only imagine the face he'd seen in that brief second; something heartless, evil.

He stood in the line, talking to Tyler and Mike. Jessica Stanley waved at him enthusiastically, before being pulled into her seat by Lauren. The latter hissed into Jessica's ear, her words filled with spite: "_Don't bother yourself, he's only got eyes for Bella Cullen._" Both girls turned to look at me, and Jessica's eyes widened in understanding—or was it annoyance? I couldn't tell, but nor did I really care.

The seconds ticked by. _Twelve, thirteen, fourteen._ Edward looked around himself as he paid, as though searching out a reassurance within the cold, generic walls of this high school hangout. _Twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight. _Frustration and impatience began to grow in my mind. Why was he taking so long?

Those green eyes finally came my way, skimming over the heads of the other mortals within these confines. They widened when they met my face, flicking quickly from one side to the other. I could tell what he was wondering—you didn't have to be a mind reader to understand that. _Make him feel at ease, Bella_. I smiled slightly, keeping my expression friendly. His heart stuttered quickly, and it was all I could do not to turn the small curve into a full blown grin. I winked; the effect was like switching on an electronic magnet. Suddenly, his feet couldn't move fast enough my way. Behind him, Jessica and Lauren shot incredulous glances at his back, their eyes moving from his retreating figure to my face and back so quickly they would have appeared blurred. He sat down quickly, slamming the tray down with a little extra force onto the table. The soda bottle wobbled dangerously, and my smile grew wider as he reached out to steady it. That hand shot immediately back under the table into his lap, and I heard the skin tighten as both hands curled into a single fist.

"Hello," he said cautiously, his eyes travelling over my face as he searched for some reason as to why he was actually seated here with me. Curiosity grew in his expression as he took in the subtle differences, before looking down at his tray. I thought about them myself, and cursed internally. My eyes had been flat black in their bloodlust, my expression something fierce the last time I'd seen him. Now those irises would be a light, honey gold, and I looked considerably gentler.

Remembering the reason for my initial aversion to this child before me, I inhaled carefully through my nostrils. The burn hit suddenly, and I flinched a little. Potent. He smelled just as good as last time. My hands tightened on my seat, and I prayed I wouldn't leave fingermarks anywhere.

His voice broke through my painful internal struggle, something like frustration colouring his tone. "Where's your family?" Humouring him, I opened my eyes wide in faux surprise, then looked around quickly. He laughed at my terrible acting, and I couldn't help but smile. Though not too widely; they got scared if we pulled our lips back too far over those razor sharp teeth.

"Not here today," I replied evenly. "I suppose they thought it better to start the weekend early." He looked at me strangely; had my expression given something away? That firm mouth pursed slightly, as though he was resisting the urge to say something, to blurt out some awkward question.

"And you?" The question was short, succinct, but asked too much of me. He was curious; that I could understand. If I were him, I'd be curious about me too. Mystery was a requirement of this existence. We lost it at pain of…death, or whatever you call it.

"I…decided to be good. For once." I tried to be as honest as possible in my response, but it came out feeling like a lie anyway. My mouth curved at the unintentional irony in my answer: I was the furthest thing from good you could ever hope to meet. He smiled, and something in me stirred. The expression was kind, automatic, as though he couldn't help it. He was a polite person, then. How unusual.

His eyes darted down to the table in front of me, and for a moment I thought that he'd had enough of staring at my cold, ever-same features. Then I noted the object of his focus; my empty tray, another necessary prop for the human façade I had to adopt every day.

"Aren't you hungry?" he blurted suddenly, concern and curiosity mingling in his expression. I laughed at what he was offering as sustenance, all the while keeping tabs on my thirst. It was tolerable, not nearly enough to cause him any danger. Though the burn was annoying to say the least, Edward Masen was safe for now. From me, at least.

"No, most definitely not." The light hearted words made him frown, as though I were a puzzle he were trying desperately to work out.

"Still, you should eat something. I mean, after all, you're a growing girl," he teased, one warm hand pushing a blood red apple towards me. I stared at it, feeling the revulsion in my mind. The colour was enticing, but nothing further; even the sweet, fruity scent leaking from its flesh was nothing compared to that which rolled off the boy in front of me.

"Trust me, I'm fine." The words came out a little sharper than intended, but I didn't think he noticed. Rather, those green eyes widened, and he looked at me with…fascination. And something else. Was it awe?

"Don't get me wrong Bella," he began almost nervously, like he was afraid of offending me, "but you look so…fragile."

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for that. I froze for an instant, incredulity written all over my face, shock dancing behind my eyes. I couldn't help it; I leaned back then into the incredible bout of laughter that overtook me. My shoulders shook, and I raised one hand to my stomach, as though I was human again and felt like my sides should split from the effort. Edward looked at me in astonishment; apparently he wasn't prepared for the hysterics of a female too well.

Recovering my composure, I returned my focus to him. His breathing hitched, and the smile I'd felt threatening my lips broke out.

"Fragile? No, Edward, that's you—r mother's prized vase," I said without humour, hoping desperately he hadn't noticed my tiny sleight of the tongue. Judging by the way his eyes had narrowed, I guessing I wasn't so lucky. "That's glass. I'm the farthest thing from fragile you can ever get." I hung my head, the shame in my reality overtaking me. My words were as true as true could ever be, and there was no way to ever turn them into a lie.

The expression on his face was nowhere even close to the one I was expecting. Shock, fear, nervousness, perhaps. Not the victory that danced behind his eyes, or the speculation that curved his mouth. No, I was not prepared for those in the least.

"Prove it, then."

My head whipped up as I stared at him in blatant astonishment. He'd thrown me off-balance. Again.

"Later." The word fell from my lips before I had a chance to stop myself. The feeling of shame intensified; now I'd have to break promises too. I wondered idly if my day could get any worse, before I remembered which class I had last period.

"Later," he repeated, his eyes never moving from my own. There was so much intensity in that single word; it was unnerving. I stared at him, allowing some of my own curiosity to flicker across my face. His mouth fell open a little, and that already racing heart jolted erratically inside his ribcage. I grinned at him openly.

"So why'd you call me over? I've never seen you…"

The part of the question he left unsaid triggered more of a response than his voiced query. I looked at him, considering my answer carefully. "I suppose I just wanted to apologise for the other day." Judging from the wary expression that darted across his face, I knew he understood what I was talking about. For some reason, it made me all the more desperate to extend my inadequate apology to him. "It was incredibly rude of me to act that way. Forgive me?" I smiled at him hopefully from under my lashes, not daring to breathe whilst I waited for a response.

"I don't know." _Oh God_. "It was really horrible." _You have no idea, Edward Masen._ "Do I get an explanation?"

Yet again, his words caught me off guard. I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotion that swept over me at that moment. The surprise was the greatest; I was so used to getting whatever I wanted, from humans or otherwise, that denial was almost shocking. But the pain…I wasn't expecting that. It racked my mind—sheer agony. I dropped my gaze, staring at the table in a refusal to meet his probing eyes.

"I don't think you'd want to hear it," I murmured, the words running together. I was almost disgusted by how weak I sounded. "And even if you did, you wouldn't believe me."

He was quiet for a moment, his breathing as slow and subdued as his heart beat.

"I'd believe anything you said, Isabella Cullen."

_Isabella Cullen_. It had been so long, so, so long since anyone had called me by that full name. I looked up at him, my thoughts almost wondrous as I considered his face. It was fascinating, the way the light struck along his jaw line, creating perfect shadows that blurred into one another. In absentia, my hand beat out something hard , fast and strong. A rhythm of vampires everywhere.

"How would you know that, Edward? We don't even know each other." As I said this, some other realization came floating to the forefront of my mind. I wanted to know him. He was _interesting_.

Those green eyes flashed, then cooled. "Because I don't make a point of calling people I barely know liars." My mouth twitched at his indignant words; oh dear, I'd offended him. "People I do know, on the other hand…" I failed to suppress my smile as I caught Mike Newton watching us from his table, jealousy and amazement written all over his face.

"So I hear there's a dance coming up." My eyebrows shot towards my hairline at these blunt, entirely unrelated words. One thing I had to give to Edward Masen: he sure knew how to surprise me. The embarrassment was written all over his face, and I guessed he hadn't meant to say anything along those lines, or at least not quite so suddenly.

"And?"

He looked a little like a child who'd been caught stealing something from the pantry. "Are you going?"

I laughed at his transparency, and he looked a little relieved. The curiosity that raged on his face had changed, taken on a new attitude. It looked almost…hungry. I shook the thought away.

"No, I'm not," I said, grinning at the thought of my family and I attending the teenage dance. "Are you?"

He shook his head, but the remorse playing across his face looked too perfect to be genuine. My mouth twitched, but I said nothing. "No. Don't you need to be asked?" I was surprised at this; had I been wrong about the looks almost every girl in the school had been shooting him? His voice was steady, proving that he thought it no real loss to be not be going. For some reason, this made me happy. So he _was_ different.

"And you haven't been yet? I would have thought that Jessica or Lauren might have flattered you with the grace of their company." His mouth fell open, closing just as quickly as he searched my face for any hint of sarcasm or satire. There was none; I was actually genuinely curious.

Edward snorted with laughter, the sound carrying a little spite. I smiled at this; I happened to agree with the boy. If I was given the choice between going through that horrible fire of my transformation again, or going to the spring dance with one of those two…I'd go to the dance. But it would be a close call.

I sensed the vibrations of the siren before it came, but thought it better to at least act surprised. Edward rubbed his temples, as though he had a sudden headache. I looked at him curiously. He shrugged, almost apologetically.

"It's so annoying—it makes my head throb," he explained, and I laughed at his sheepish expression. I could have said exactly the same thing for Mike Newton's voice, but thought it better than to actually voice my feelings aloud.

"Come on, we're going to be late," I said as I rose, gathering my books that I'd left piled next to me on the seat. He stood too after a moment, his movement much less graceful than my own. I cringed as his eyes widened slightly; of course he noticed this. The moment I'd classed all humans as unobservant, one comes along that disproves everything. And it had to be _him_, didn't it? Damn.

I walked quickly without really bothering to check if he was following or not; my ears registered the accelerated heartbeat behind me, and the quicker breathing, and I just assumed. Besides, even if it was some crazed stalker—my mind laughed at the thought—I knew just how to discourage them.

The English room came into sight, and dread raced through my mind. I'd been avoiding thinking of it. All through lunch I'd been keeping tabs on my burn, making sure my thirst wasn't unmanageable. It hadn't been; but that was in a huge cafeteria. In the smaller, more intimate confines of the English room, I doubted it would be so bearable.

Edward's figure darted around me suddenly, startling me from the reverie. His hand pushed back the door, and he stood waiting for me to walk through. I realised with a jolt that he was holding it open for me. Smiling, I took a step nearer. "Here goes," I muttered, before walking into that cooler, personal hell of mine.

Like before, I went to sit down in my usual seat. Like before, Edward took the seat in front of mine. Like before, his scent was blown at me in concentration by the wayward heating vents. And, like before, I was ashamed to instinctively begin holding my breath from the very beginning. On a happier note, my mind was only slightly hazy; I could think through the cloud of this boy's scent that bloomed around him, enveloping me in the process. Occasionally, he'd shift in his seat to turn and glance at me; each time I smiled with closed lips, resisting the temptation to open my mouth even slightly. His eyes would widen, as though not expecting me to be watching him, and he'd turn suddenly back to his desk, concentrating unnecessarily hard on his work. And every time, every single time, the smallest movements would blow that impossible scent back into my face; though I couldn't smell it, I could feel it growing around my figure, and the memory was more than enough to send the venom flowing.

Edward's hand began to move quickly across his page—too quickly for him to be actually copying the slow, tedious lecture. I watched him curiously, my own hand copying down the words in perfect script without paying any attention. Once, he turned as though to look back at me, but quickly returned to his work, as though he thought better of it. My fascination flamed along with my desiccated throat; what _was_ he doing.

At long last, the final bell sounded, and I breathed a sigh of relief; my first breath in over an hour. Edward heard this—he turned around and appraised me, his eyes raking over my relaxed features and even flicking to my perfect notes, albeit briefly. I smiled slightly, raising my eyebrows as I glanced pointedly towards the door. _Shall we?_ He knew what I meant. My reward was a grin so huge I wondered exactly how it fit onto his face. Not that I was complaining—it lit up his expression like lights on a Christmas tree. Glorious. And I'd seen some beauty in my seemingly endless years of existence.

We stood up almost simultaneously; startled laughter burst from between my lips at the coincidence, and he looked at me curiously. I locked away my hysteria for later, wondering about why my humanity had suddenly chosen to manifest itself _now_. I walked slower this time, allowing him to keep pace with me as we wandered through the door. This time I paused as he reached to hold it open for me; a small smile curved my lips at his chivalry. The day had not yet turned to rain, though the humidity and cloud cover was promising a real storm. Alice had sent me a message earlier about a baseball game in the clearing outside of town—did I want to play? I'd have to let her know when I got home.

"Isabella." The word was a statement, rather than the question names usually became when used by themselves. The sound had come from behind me. _Odd_. I'd thought he was right beside me all the time.

Turning, I saw he'd stopped moving, his eyes focused entirely on what would have been the back of my head. I raised an eyebrow as he took a deep breath. His heart hammered in his chest, and my mouth tightened in alarm. _Is he ok??_ I'd never really paid much attention to the signs that belied bad health in humans; my own needs were so different. So much simpler. I could barely remember my own human days, nor did I really want to; they caused so much pain.

Instead, I watched with curious eyes as he approached me, his left hand clenched into a fist around a piece of paper which protruded between his fingers. He stopped, never taking his eyes off me as one hand reached out to take my own. I jerked back—the touch was too hot against my icy skin—but he persisted, those warm, breakable fingers pressing the paper into the palm of my hand before pulling away. I looked down, and saw a piece of writing paper, folded in half with my name written on top of it in scrawling, loopy handwriting.

A faint blush rose into his cheeks as I looked at him questioningly. "Thanks," he muttered, before hurrying past me like the hounds of hell were at his heels.

"Bella." The word came from my mouth softly, but firmly. He was far enough away that I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. Then he turned around, the embarrassment replaced by curiosity.

"What was that?" he called back, and my confidence rose a little. I took a step towards him, and he swallowed, hard.

"Bella. Not Isabella. Please." I felt a little dizzy, a little euphoric as the steady rhythm of his heart beat against my body. The burn was still there, flaming in my throat, but it took second place to whatever was happening here. I didn't have a word for it yet.

"Bella," he repeated, and a smile warmed his formerly frozen features. If I'd had a heart, it would stopped for a moment. "Beautiful." He nodded thoughtfully; judging from the expression in his eyes, I guessed that those thoughts had only just returned to his head. He'd looked a little…dazzled.

I smiled at him, thought my mind was painfully aware of the piece of paper enclosed within my stone fingers. They twitched impatiently, desperate to open it and read whatever words he'd written.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Edward Masen." The words came willingly, and with them a sense of anticipation. Yes, I _would_ see him tomorrow. I could be sure of that.

The ghost of a smile became the real thing as the fragile human boy looked at me, his green eyes warming perceptibly. Even a mortal would have noticed the difference in expression from this distance.

"Tomorrow, Bella Cullen."

**That was fun :) Next chapter is from Alice's POV (yes, I'm sure you can see a trend appearing here), and it's where the real action begins! What does Edward's note say? What will Bella do when she gets home? How does the baseball game go??**

**Review, and Edward will come to your door and do the hula :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey hey team! Ok, a note on the delays on both stories (just so you don't flame me for being epically lazy :P) My computer totally crashed, and I lost ALL of my fics! So I'm sorry that this one's a bit late coming: I've actually lost all my pictures, my music, everything; it's very, VERY annoying. I know, it's time for a new laptop, but I need to wait for Christmas until that particular wish can be fulfilled :) On another wish, READ, LOVE AND REVIEW! It'd really make my day--I'm in the middle of my final exams right now, so feedback from you guys really makes my life a little bit brighter :)  
**

**So anyway, on with the show!**

Alice

_Munch, munch, munch_

My jaw worked furiously against the apple in my mouth, pounding its fruity flesh into a pulp. The juices squirted against my tongue, and I tried not to think too much about the taste, or what I was doing. It was too…disgusting. Honestly, there was something wrong with humans who enjoyed eating these things. Then again. I admired their perseverance. How could anyone actually enjoy something this…bland? Tasteless? It was like chewing my way through wood fibres, something I'd only tried once, and out of pure necessity. Nothing I'd ever repeat again.

I stared at the remains of the fruit in my hand, trying to focus on the deep crimson skin of it. Sundowner. Nice. It made my efforts slightly more tolerable, but only slightly. Emmett watched the revulsion in my face with clear delight on his own. He knew the absolute disgust I was feeling, and he thought it was going to work in his favour. Not bloody likely; if anything, it just made me more determined to win the damn bet.

Finally, I swallowed laboriously, feeling the almost-liquified fruit slide down my gullet and into my unused stomach. Jasper let out a victorious whoop, and Emmett looked as though he'd been slapped. That lower lip trembled like a petulant child who was denied something he wanted. Or, in this case, was given something he really didn't want.

"There!" I crowed triumphantly, opening my mouth wide so he could see all contents were gone into the abyss of my gut. "Told you I could eat the damn apple. I'll call in that favour sometime later, I think." Already I felt slightly sick at the thought of what I'd have to do later; cough it back up into the garden. There goes my night. Thankyou Emmett, you big jerk.

"Aw man, I can't believe you actually ate it! God knows what you're going to do with me now…" Emmett moaned at the thought of what I could possibly be planning for him. I hadn't considered it myself, truth be told, but it was fun to make him sweat whilst I worked something out. Figuratively, at least. None of us had broken a sweat for at least the past seventy years.

"That's what you get for being an idiot Emmett, and making bets with the little sprite. She's been with us for, what, eighty years now, and you still haven't learnt? Men! Besides, how difficult is it to eat an apple?" Behind us, Rosalie made a small noise of disgust as she watched us from the window seat overlooking the forest. I looked at her and grinned widely, pulling my lips back over my razor sharp teeth and praying there wasn't any fruit caught between them. She rolled her golden eyes and returned to the tattered copy of Shakespeare's sonnets, which Carlisle had kept from his youth. The pages were worn, almost falling out of the binding. I frowned; I'd have to repair that sometime. Perhaps give a new copy to Carlisle for his birthday.

Emmett looked at her appraisingly, his eyes raking over her body and back up to her face. "Would _you_ eat an apple for me, Rosie?"

She snorted, folding the page of her book before rising to her full height. She walked over to stand in front of him, her eyes full of stone. "Not a chance, my boy," she replied, poking him in the chest with each word, before walking out of the room, her high heels making soft clacking noises on the wooden floor. Emmett raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"Is she angry at me?"

Jasper and I laughed. "No, Em," Jasper said soothingly, as though he were speaking to a particularly disobedient toddler. "She just can't believe you actually made a bet with Alice here and expected to win." He reached out quickly to ruffle my hair, and I poked my tongue out at him. Emmett frowned, and followed Rosalie's trail into the sitting room. I could hear them begin to argue, and I shot an exasperated look at Jasper. He grinned, and pulled me closer against his chest.

My ears pricked suddenly at the sound of a car turning off the freeway and into our mile long drive. I smiled involuntarily, the action reflex to the sound of the R8's smooth, purring engine. Bella was home.

The sound grew steadily louder, cutting off suddenly as the tyres screeched to a halt at what I guessed was an inch from the back wall of the garage. I heard Esme's sharp intake of breath and accompanying wince from the kitchen; she hated it when any of us did that. Unlike the rest of us, she wasn't a speed monster—in a car, at least. In the woods…that was another matter entirely. The woman was a freak, and that was coming from me.

A gust of wind blew through the house as the front door opened and slammed, carrying with it my sister's unique scent of freesias, sunshine and peach blossoms. Bella's body emerged from the hall a millisecond after she'd entered the house; we didn't have to be cautious in here. It was fine to move at our normal speed, a fact which most of us relished.

"Hey Bella!" My mouth opened wide in a grin as my favourite sister walked through the door. Not that I didn't love Rosalie or anything, but still…sometimes, the blonde was a little hard to handle.

Bella smiled back at me, her lips splitting to reveal blindingly white teeth. "Hey Al! Jazz, Em, Rose. Carlisle! Esme!" she called, and a soft dual harmony of "Hello Bella!" echoed from the kitchen. I laughed, and even Rose cracked a smile at the perfect synchronization of it all.

I followed her up the winding staircase as she began to whistle softly, the melodic sound carrying in some perfect harmony with the gale blowing outside. I smiled; sounded like _someone_ had had a good day. Glancing down, I saw the note clutched in her white hand; aside from the pale blue lines on the paper, the two were almost the same colour. The smile on my face widened—of course. The boy.

She didn't turn to acknowledge me as she opened the door to her room, walking through the wooden door frame as she continued her walk. I wondered if she'd even heard me; it wasn't like Bella to ignore _anyone_. Then again, was there even an option of her _not_ having heard me? Vampire senses weren't exactly dulled, and I wasn't making any real effort to be quiet. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as she dumped her bags on her desk, spilling papers and books all over the shining mahogany. Her foot began to tap against the floor in absentia, and I raised an eyebrow. She seemed so…human.

Bella spun around then, as though I'd set off a gun behind her. Her eyes widened, and her breath came in a sharp gasp. I looked at her quizzically. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine. You startled me, is all. I didn't hear you come up." Downright alarm shot through my mind as I propped one hand on my hip, staring at her unblinkingly. Bella seemed to realise what she'd said, and her eyes widened even more so, if it were possible. I felt like I could have drowned in those enormous golden irises if I'd had the inclination.

"No, really Alice, I didn't hear you. How strange." Especially for her. Bella's senses were so much sharper than any of ours; it was one of those many gifts. None of us had known her in her human life, so we had no idea how she'd become so…powerful. It was something we could only really guess at.

"Something on your mind, Bella?" I teased lightly, as I took a running leap at the enormous, unnecessary bed along one side of the room. The mattress bounced when I hit it, the springs within creaking under the sudden weight. Bella frowned at me from her vantage point at the opposite wall.

"Careful Alice, you'll ruin the frame. Esme loves that thing. And no, nothing more than usual." She took a deep breath, and I was struck by the sudden thought that if she could, she'd be blushing. I shook my head, smiling. The girl had never been much of a liar.

Faking nonchalance, I inspected my fingernails. "Not thinking about…oh, I don't know, Edward Masen?" I shot the name at her like a bullet from a gun, going for the offence. To my disappointment, it didn't quite have the desired effect; there was no gasp of breath, no knocking of stationary off the desk. Bella looked at me quite calmly as I appraised her reaction with sharp eyes. This exchange went on for a few minutes—I refused to drop my gaze until the truth was out. Her jaw tightened slightly, and I knew I had her.

"Aha!" I all but shouted, and she winced away from the sound of my voice as I sprang from the bed, one finger extended to point at her. "You've been holding out on me! What happened?" As if I didn't already know; I'd been watching the little interludes all day, moments before they actually happened. It was like getting an earlier broadcast of a live game.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, like you haven't already seen it happen. We just…talked. I apologised for what happened the other day." Again with the deep, unnecessary breath; I drew one myself as I winced internally at the memories of what could have—what WOULD have—happened that fateful day.

My eyes flickered to the desk; something drew my gaze, holding it there as I searched roughly through the papers and bags. _Papers_. That note.

I darted suddenly across the room, too quickly for her to put out her arms to stop me. My hands shifted through the paper, and I let out a cry of triumph as I pulled out my prize. A piece of ordinary writing paper with Bella's name scrawled across it in some elegant script. Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw my hand clenched, and she ran to my side, her hands grasping desperately at what I wouldn't let her touch.

"Give it back, Alice!" she hissed. The victorious smile spread over my face as I shook one finger at her.

"Nuh uh, Bella. Besides, it's not like I don't know what it says already," I replied smugly, tapping the side of my head. She didn't have to know that I was lying; I hadn't even known the note existed until this afternoon.

Bella's shoulder slumped in defeat, and she sat down heavily on the bed. "Oh."

"Kidding!" I sprang lightly out of her grasp, my fingers pulling the paper open as she gasped her outrage at my deception. I flapped a hand at her impatiently, not in the mood for any theatrics aside from my own. "Oh pish, Bella. Move on with your existence." My eyes scanned the words quickly, the smile growing ever wider as the writing was absorbed. I turned to her and squealed, my excitement breaking through into my voice.

"Bella, this is so sweet! You really know how to pick them, don't you? He wrote you a letter just to tell you 'thankyou for having lunch with me'. He thinks you're beautiful! How adorable! Is he Southern? I love Southern accents!" Below me, I heard Jasper's playful roar, and Emmett's deep chuckles. The corners of Bella's mouth turned up slightly, but she didn't shift her dejected pose at the end of her bed. I rolled my eyes, and flitted across the room, sitting down next to her on the old-fashioned mattress. She didn't look up at me, continuing to stare at the floor as though it was her only hope for survival. I frowned slightly—something was wrong here…

The realisation hit me, and I scrambled up until I was kneeling on the bed, my eyes wide and staring at her intently. She caught my expression, and gave me a frown of her own, those slender brows coming together over topaz irises. "What?"

"You like him!" The words fell out of my mouth before I actually had a chance to reign them in or even think about my choice of accusation. She looked at me like I'd gone crazy as I began to bounce a little on the spring-loaded mattress.

"I don't, Al," she replied, but there was annoyance in her eyes. Annoyance that…I'd guessed right? Or something else. Perhaps she really didn't like him…

"I mean, I like him as a person; I really don't see how anyone couldn't. But I only just met him four days ago, and I spent three and a half of those in a bloodthirsty stupor! Give me a break!" she snapped, turning away from me. Her thick hair fell out of her pins to hide her face, which was annoying to say the least. It was the best avenue to her thoughts I had; the girl had a terrible poker face. One of my white hands reached out to pull the soft mahogany and tuck it behind her stone ear.

"Oh, go away Alice!" Bella cried, batting away my hand with one of her own. My mind went strangely blank, and suddenly I _was_ away, my body acting on an impulse I was powerless to control. Jasper looked at me in alarm as I streaked down the stairs in a blur of black hair and crimson silk. I stopped as I crashed into him, disorientated. Blinking twice, I struggled to remember why I was downstairs in the first place. Oh. Damn.

"Isabella Marie Cullen!" I yelled up the stairs, hitting below the belt with the use of her full name. All I got in reward for my troubles was a low chuckle from Jasper, and my lower lip protruded into a pout. Upstairs, my sister laughed softly, the sound carrying to my immortal ears as clearly as if she'd shouted it.

"Move on with your existence, Alice!" Bella's voice floated down the stairs, and I heard Rosalie's laughter mingle with Emmett's from the sitting room. Jasper chuckled again, and I felt slightly sulky. Luckily for them, I could sort of see the joke. Sort of.

"Are we ready to go?" Carlisle called from the kitchen, already dressed in his loose travelling pants and baseball cap. Emmett grinned as a flash of lightning lit up the room, creating eerie shadows cast by his features. Anticipating the burst of thunder that would occur in around sixteen seconds, I clapped my hands together, all thoughts of Bella and her boy pushed aside. I'd deal with them later.

"Yes! Let's go!" I replied, my excitement slipping through into my voice as the sound shook the windows. Esme slid down the banister, having traded her skirt and jewelled flats for more practical looking sneakers and shorts. I looked down briefly, examining my crimson silk shift dress and wondering if I should change. The thought was dispelled immediately; it wasn't like it would hinder me, and clothes were dispensable. Besides, the dress wasn't one of my favourites.

The family gathered by the door, watching the sporadic raindrops change into light but constant drizzle. Rosalie let out a moan as she tied her hair back, whipping the golden curtain into a ponytail that swished as she shook her head, eyes fixed with gloom at the thought of getting her pride and joy wet. My own hair stuck up every which way, a fact I'd grown used to over the past century. Eyes flicking from face to face, it took me a moment or two to realise that we were one short.

"Bella? You coming down any time before this storm's over? We've only got another six hours," I yelled, though a spoken request would have worked quite fine. Her laughter carried down from the upper floor, followed by an almost ominous silence. I looked around in confusion; my questions were met with expressions equally as nonplussed as my own playing on the faces of my family. Soft chuckles resonated from outside the house, and I whirled to face Bella, a sigh ready and waiting in my throat.

She stood in the rain, her thick hair gathering raindrops like glistening diamonds on its rich brown surface. In one hand she clasped a baseball, which she flicked casually into the air twice, before meeting my eyes with her own dark gold gaze. She raised an eyebrow, a smile threatening the corner of her lips. Sneaky, sneaky. She must have scaled the side of the house while we weren't paying attention.

"Are we leaving? I hear we only have six hours or so," she teased, snatching the ball from the air as it defied gravity for even a second. Emmett laughed, alleviating the strange tension that had filled the atmosphere. I rolled my eyes, and darted out the door, grabbing her hand as a passed. The sound of running footsteps behind me ensured that I didn't pause once, the sheer joy of speed carrying me over every obstacle like I was flying.

As we raced through the undergrowth, my mind flicked back and forth between one moment and the next, the future and the present, baseball and…Bella. I'd been considering her a lot recently. We'd all gotten used to her presence, her soothing, wholly _good_ nature, and we loved her like the sister she was. But if you thought about it, she was truly…extraordinary.

Carlisle's theory about vampiric…extras was one that all of us were familiar with. Although unable to be positive, he suspected (and most of us agreed with him) that each of us carried our strongest personality traits through from our human lives to our new existence. I thought about this as we sped through the dripping undergrowth, only a small part of my mind needed to concentrate on where I was actually placing my feet.

Each of us had come to the Cullen family bearing our little gift to add to an already sizeable pile. Carlisle and his compassion, combined with Esme's never-failing love created the ideal parents, the heart and the head. Rosalie came next, bringing with her into this life her exquisite, insurmountable beauty. My mouth twitched as I considered my sister; even in her human years, she had been the centre of attention, of admiration. It was like air for her. And now, when she didn't need the air, and people shied away from her instinctively…she was still the most beautiful. Still the most stubborn, too.

Emmett had become the fourth member of the family, easily the strongest vampire I'd ever had the good fortune (or misfortune) to run across in over a century of existence. He was the perfect balance to his beautiful mate; there really was something to be said for a good nature and a series of never-ending jokes.

Despite the incredibly dominant personalities present within the house, Jasper and I had been the first to bring anything…beyond the norm to the family. He controlled emotions; I saw the future. A pair of freaks amongst freaks. Small wonder I'd been destined for him. For a while, we'd been wanderers together, but my vision kept extending past what I was seeing at the time, and reaching to this odd, golden eyed family in Washington.

Bella, though…

I sighed deeply, as though wearied suddenly. My youngest sister, she who was most recent to this life, was easily the most powerful among us. When she'd first been brought to us, by fate or God or some other power I had no name for, we had no idea what was happening. None of us had been able to get close to her without her consent, and even then on occasion, we'd found ourselves leaving without any reason for having being with her in the first place. If she wanted, we'd find ourselves doing things we'd have never had any reason for, simply because she wished it. Bella had this compelling manner of making anyone wish to tell her their deepest secrets if they got too close, vampire or no. Hypnosis? Manipulation of our heartstrings? Sheer compulsion? Carlisle had finally been able to place a name to the powerful, terrifying talent possessed by this girl we'd been so unprepared for.

Mind control.

It was easy enough to see where a talent such as this would stem from; Bella had clearly been a gifted manipulator, whether purposely or no, in her human years. She must have been able to guide everyone into doing whatever she wanted, through what we could only guess was a natural charm. Her gift carried with it another aspect, this one purely defensive for what we could see. Whilst she could control the wills and actions of others, Bella's mind was silent, as impenetrable as her now rock-hard flesh.

As we slowed, my mind flashed unexpectedly back to the human boy. Edward Masen. I let out a low chuckle as I considered what he was letting himself in for if Bella decided to pursue…friendship. Poor thing would have no chance in hell.

"Earth to Alice? Is it nap time already?" Emmett's booming voice carried through the clearing, making me jump slightly as I escaped from my reverie. I looked at him with wide eyes, and Jasper's arm tightened around my waist, his low chuckles muffled by his mouth pressed against my hair. "Ready to play ball?" Emmett called again, and I nodded, flitting to his side as we divided into the usual teams. Rosalie went to stand at the batters mound, swinging the steel bat in lazy circles through the air. Bella went to take the outfield, whilst I went to stand behind Rose as the catcher. She turned and smiled at me as I took my preferred position, before facing Emmett again.

"You gonna hit a home run, Rosie?" he called to her, his tone belying his confidence at his superior skill. I shook my head in resignation. _Foolish boy—would he ever learn_?

Rosalie's eyes narrowed slightly at her mate. "Maybe not, but I'll sure hit it further than you can run to catch it," she replied, and I smirked a little at Emmett's face. No matter how many times they had this exchange, it never seemed to get old.

Esme's voice rang out from the sidelines. "Batter up!" Rosalie stepped onto the plate, and I held my hand in front of me like a glove, ready. Emmett's arm swung around as he pitched the ball at her, the speed causing a whistle as the object flew through the air. Rose's bat came around, connecting with a crack to rival the storm sound building in the clouds. The small white object shot over the trees, and I watched as Bella pelted into the forest, disappearing into the night in hot pursuit. Rosalie flitted around the bases, her ponytail a gold streak behind her head. We all listened for something to signify a home run or an out; Bella had been gone for almost half a minute now. _Thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, thirty four…_

"Out!" Esme cried, as Bella re-emerged from the trees, crowing triumphantly, the ball held in her outstretched hand. Jasper and Rosalie swore in synchronisation, and Emmett let out a whoop of triumph before running to embrace his laughing sister. I just laughed, clapping my hands together as Esme and Carlisle laughed behind me. Over our heads, the deep rumble of thunder sounded as the storm progressed, and I could feel the water trickling from my crown and down my neck. Glancing down, I saw that my dress had been soaked, closer to black than crimson in colour. Hmm. The colour was an improvement.

The rest of my family continued to razz each other, Emmett reaching out and ruffling Rosalie's hair when she wasn't paying attention. She hissed at him in annoyance; he grinned at her, earning himself a kiss and a smack upside the head. I poked my tongue out at Jasper, and he smiled back at me wickedly. He was about to open his mouth when Bella jumped on his back and dug her stone knuckles into his scalp, rubbing them back and forth. He laughed, wincing at the sensation that I knew wouldn't be pleasant, before pulling her off and shoving her back as she laughed at him from the ground. Carlisle tried to call us to order as Esme giggled helplessly by the sidelines at our foolery. I couldn't help but notice how Bella's eyes continually darted towards the thick trees to our north east; was something wrong?

A breath of wind rippled through the clearing then, bringing with it some scent and…the sounds of beating hearts. I stiffened simultaneously with the rest of my family as we all darted into pairs. Bella came to stand beside Rosalie and Emmett, her eyes focused on what none of us could see yet. Everyone else was tense; Bella looked relatively calm, her hands swinging loosely by her sides as she considered the trees and the growling that was emitting from between their dark trunks.

It was then that I saw them, each hackle raised as though shot through with electricity. Jasper's hand shot out reflexively and pulled me close, and I had no objection as I watched the creatures pull out from the darkness, skulking towards us with their eyes flat black in hatred.

The enormous wolf known as Sam snarled at us, his dark fur standing up almost on end. Behind him stood six other wolves, each looking more ferocious than the last. My eye was caught by a wolf with dark red-brown fur, the moonlight setting an almost amber gleam from the coarse hairs. He looked at me too; his expression was wary, and yet pleading. Like he was asking for permission.

Without warning, he turned and trotted back into the woods, his footfalls getting softer with the distance. The rest of the pack watched us warily, though Sam's attention was focused on the lone wolf. I didn't need to read minds to tell where his thoughts were; _if one of us decided to go after him, would the pack be fast enough to save him?_ The tension in the air grew, and I could almost feel Jasper wondering whether or not to inject some calm into the interaction. At this rate, it looked like we were going to need it.

"Sam." A voice, very low, very male, slid from between the trees like water through sand. It was husky and rough; the accompanying heartbeat was confirmation that we were dealing with a human, or at least, something close to one. My muscles tensed, and I saw the tightening of my family's faces as they did the same. We were all prepared to run if necessary.

The man emerged from the trees finally, clad only in tattered sweatpants. He was tall—probably closer to seven feet than six—and the russet skin covering the muscles of his bare chest contracted slightly as he moved closer to us. His expression was calm, benign, but his eyes belied his caution as he appraised us, even warier in his human form. The gleam from his white teeth and black hair was strong to my overdeveloped senses; even stronger, though, was the smell that assaulted my nostrils. Pure, concentrated wet dog. Urgh. My face wrinkled in disgust, and Jasper laughed a little at my side. Carlisle stepped forward, ever the diplomat. A grey wolf at the pack's rear snarled at this, but Jacob held out a hand, cautioning them back.

"Jacob. It's been a while." Carlisle's voice was smooth, calm. He wanted nothing more than to walk away from this with our family in tact, and no violence shed. I wondered how likely that possibility was.

"Yes, it has Carlisle. Thankyou for sticking with the treaty for _this long_, it's been…unexpected," the man Jacob replied, folding his arms across his chest. A little growl slipped from my throat when sarcasm had coated the latter half of his speech; had we broken it in any way? Jacob's eyes slipped to me, but then back to Carlisle.

"So we're curious as to why you've suddenly gone around murdering hikers? Elk not enough to fill your appetite anymore?" Jacob's words were menacing as he spat them towards us, like they were bones he'd swallowed at dinner. Rosalie stared at him in abject disbelief; Emmett wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulder, as though scared she'd try to do something to the werewolf before her. Carlisle frowned at him, his golden eyes full of concern.

"I don't understand, Jacob. We haven't stepped outside the treaty since it was set down. What happened?"

Jacob examined Carlisle's eyes, as though expecting them to become crimson within an instant. Slowly, he nodded, his suspicions dispelled as he turned to glance back at his pack. The one named Sam lifted his furry chin slightly in the semblance of a nod. Jacob turned back to us, his expression grave as he began to explain.

"We came across a blood trail early last week. Human blood," he began, watching us carefully for any sign of reaction. "It was mingled with some scent that we weren't familiar with, but we followed it anyway, hoping to track down the leech that did. All we found was the…" he shuddered, taking a deep breath before continuing "…the carcass. The head was almost completely severed; it looked like wild animals had been at the poor girl before we found her."

"Girl?" Bella blurted, her eyes huge with distress. I could understand; somehow, the knowledge that a female life had been ended, a young female life at that, was so much worse than anything else. We'd been young too, when our human lives finished. It just hadn't been the end for us.

Jacob looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Yes, Isabella. She was about fifteen or sixteen, or so we're guessing." Behind me, I heard Rose's sharp intake of breath. "We haven't been able to ID the body yet," he admitted, almost sheepishly, his eyes darting to the ground momentarily. He looked almost…embarrassed. I flicked a quick glance to Jasper, and a wave of calm radiated through the clearing. Jacob's face smoothed over, and he looked at us again.

"We just had to make sure that the treaty was still in tact. After all, it wouldn't do to have human bloodsuckers living too hear the town now, would it?" Jacob smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He inhaled sharply, wincing as though it hurt his nose to do so. It was only then that I remembered that they were as sensitive to our scent as we were to theirs.

My eyesight blurred suddenly, as it often did when my mind traversed the present and was thrust into the future at the speed of light. It was lucky that I didn't have to breathe to remain conscious; I couldn't have drawn breath even if I'd wanted to. The colours that played in some grotesque movie behind my eyelids were too vivid, forming pictures I didn't want to see. It was so familiar, only the face was different…one face. The other…the other was so the same, and yet so alien. I felt Jasper's hand clasp my arm as I slithered to the ground, unable to keep myself standing for any longer under the onslaught of . Somewhere distant, I could hear the others shouting my name, and the low growls of the wolves as they surveyed the scene with unease, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered, and I struggled to say the name of the only person I needed right then. My mouth opened and closed, and it felt for a moment like I was choking.

"Bella!"

Her head whipped around; she'd been watching the wolves whilst I thrashed like a landed fish on the soft grass of the field. Those dark gold eyes screamed her alarm as she darted to my side, the sudden speed making the wolves on edge. She knelt at my side, her hands gripping my shoulders, staring into my face.

"What, Alice, what?" she cried desperately, resisting the urge to shake some answers out of me. I stared at her blankly for a moment, still trying to adjust to the horrifying reality that had burst into life across my eyes. It only took one word to see everything behind her anxiety fall to pieces as she willed it not to be true.

"Edward."

**So! What's going on with Edward? I had to rewrite the chapter from scratch after my completely lame computer up and died, so I'd really, REALLY love it if you guys could review! Seriously though, this took forever to get down, and I'm really sorry I kept you waiting for it, but reviews? Much appreciated! If you think it's good, TELL ME! If you want to flame me, TELL ME! If you've got ideas for next chapter, TELL ME! What do you think of Bella's power? TELL ME! :D I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it really helps me update just that much faster! As of two days ago, I've got just over 50 people on story alert, so I know you like it enough to read it :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys!! Sorry for taking so long with this, I've been busy with my exams (I know, they never end…urgh! One more to go!) and I've been sick, wah wah wah. **

**As much as I love it, this thing is so darn time consuming, hence the slowed updates and stuff. But they're about to get even slower (oh yes, here comes the ultimatum :P)…**

**Reviews are lovely. Hell, they make my day. Favourites and alerts are great too, but there's really nothing like a nice review. So I've decided (please don't hurt me) that I won't be updating again until I get at least 50 reviews. You know what you need to do :)**

**So anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

_PREVIOUSLY…(ALICE)_

_Somewhere distant, I could hear the others shouting my name, and the low growls of the wolves as they surveyed the scene with unease, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered, and I struggled to say the name of the only person I needed right then. My mouth opened and closed, and it felt for a moment like I was choking._

"_Bella!"_

_Her head whipped around; she'd been watching the wolves whilst I thrashed like a landed fish on the soft grass of the field. Those dark gold eyes screamed her alarm as she darted to my side, the sudden speed making the wolves on edge. She knelt at my side, her hands gripping my shoulders, staring into my face. _

"_What, Alice, what?" she cried desperately, resisting the urge to shake some answers out of me. I stared at her blankly for a moment, still trying to adjust to the horrifying reality that had burst into life across my eyes. It only took one word._

"_Edward."_

I stared at my sister as she lay on the ground, her golden eyes huge and horrified in that bone-white face. The trees could have been collapsing around me for all the attention I was paying them. It…no. it can't have been true.

At once, I was standing, my body acting faster than my mind could command it. I glanced towards the south-east edge of the clearing; through those trees was the fastest way to town. The wolves shifted uncomfortably at my sudden vigour, their dark eyes appraising my face warily. I couldn't have cared less.

Carlisle stepped towards me, flanked by Jasper and Emmett. "Bella…" he began slowly, one hand extended towards me. I could almost feel Jasper reaching out, ready to send calm rippling through the gathering if he had to. Emmett looked pained; I guessed he was going to be the one to hold me down, in case I did anything stupid or unexpected.

I really didn't have time for this.

"Stay there!" I snarled back at them, the sound guttural as it ripped through my bared teeth. At once they straightened, unable to do anything else as I tore out of the clearing. The growls of the wolves filled the night air, but I didn't dwell on it too long. My thoughts were focused on one thing. _He has to be safe. He has to be safe. _Had I stopped to think about it, I would have realised that I actually had no idea what Alice's vision had been about, and the boy was probably perfectly fine.

Then again, the expression on her face had been enough to give a vampire the shivers. _That _was reason enough.

It was raining in the town when I arrived, the steady downfall having turned into a relentless torrent that gushed along the sides of the roads and into the storm water drains. I slowed to something close to human pace, grimacing as I felt my hair get a little heavier with the onslaught of moisture. Small sections plastered themselves to my stone face; I ran my fingers through the wayward strands, brushing them back from my forehead. My eyes searched for the familiar street name as I moved down the main road, desperation burning a hole in my rationality. _Dacksund, Dacksund, Dacksund…_

Relief ebbed into my thoughts as soon as I made out the faded words atop the sign post. Picking up speed, I rounded the corner, knowing exactly which house I was looking for. If I wasn't a vampire, it would have given me the creeps. As it was, I frowned a little as the blank windows and red door stared at me. It always looked so…hungry. Like it wanted to eat me.

Even from the end of the road, I could hear the chatter of the families behind closed doors, the thumping heartbeats, the rhythmic breathing, shrieks from the television. The Williams' family at number six were playing Yahtzee. My mouth curved upwards at the smallest child's enthusiasm and her heated argument with her brother over the winning roll. The innocence of their petty squabble would have warmed my heart, if I had a heart to warm.

I paused as I approached, sliding under the veranda quickly and silently. The steady drip of water from my hair and clothes was irritating to say the least, but I tried to ignore it. My unused stomach twisted into knots at the thought of what I might find inside, but I forced myself to be brave. Reaching out quickly, I knocked three times against the painted wood of the door, before clasping my hand behind my back. Inside, I heard a female voice order her son to see who was at the door, and the scraping of a chair against tiled floors.

Edward opened the door quickly, his face filled with laughter at something his father had said. The expression died when he saw who was standing there waiting for him; his eyes widened, and that smiling mouth fell open in astonishment. I could have kicked myself. Mentally, I already was. _See, stupid? He's fine. Perfectly fine. And you just interrupted a nice family dinner!_

"Bella!" The sound was surprised, but far from unwelcoming. He looked at me like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. I supposed I could understand _that_ reaction; for all he knew, I was in a house that was situated miles out of town. Something else occurred to me; I cursed internally as I realised that I'd forgotten to bring a car, or something else to explain how I got here. _Maybe he won't ask._

I smiled half-heartedly, one corner of my mouth curving up almost apologetically. "Hello Edward." _Well, at least he's alright. For now._

He continued to gape at me, mouth hanging open slightly. My eyes narrowed in concern. Was there something wrong? He looked a little…vacant. The lights are on, but nobody's home.

Trying again, I asked gently, "I hope this isn't a bad time?"

The words seemed to snap him from his reverie as he shook his head, blinking rapidly. "No, no, of course not! You're soaked—can I take your jacket? Please, come in!" The words were hasty, stumbling over each other as though he were trying to make up for a moments of silence. I grinned as I stepped over the threshold, and his heart stuttered momentarily.

"Thanks," I replied, and his warm hands peeled the dripping jacket from my arms. I breathed in through my nose tentatively, wincing; here, in his house, the scent was so concentrated. It was built layer upon layer over the lounge, the television, the rugs draped over the floor. I swallowed hard, pushing the urge to turn and snap his neck to the back of my mind. We'd deal with that later.

"Edward, who is it? You know I don't—oh!"

A woman with the same red-brown coloured waves and bright green eyes as her son came bustling around the corner into the hall. Her expression changed from resignation to surprise the moment she saw me; speculation danced behind those eyes as she took in the scene before her. Behind me, Edward shifted awkwardly.

"Mom, this is Isabella Cullen. Bella, this is my mom, Elizabeth Masen."

Elizabeth smiled at me, striding forward and taking my stone hands into her warm ones. I raised my eyebrows, impressed by the fact that she didn't flinch away from their cold, hard texture. Curious, I inhaled again. The woman smelled different, and yet so similar to her mouth-watering child; the scent bloomed around her like some inexorable cloud. I felt sorry for this family, should they ever come across any non-vegetarians of our kind.

"Welcome to our house, Isabella. Can I get you anything? Soda? Juice? Fruit?"

I smiled politely, withdrawing my hands and clasping them in front of me. "No thankyou, Mrs Masen." Seriously, what _was_ it with this family trying to give me food? "Please call me Bella—I only get Isabella from my mom when she's angry." Both Edward and Elizabeth laughed at this, the latter shooting a guilty glance at her son.

"He understands—I bring out the middle name sometimes," she admitted almost sheepishly, and I heard Edward's nod behind me. My smile widened, and Elizabeth froze momentarily, before regaining her composure.

"Come in to the sitting room, Bella. Edward, make your guest at home. Ed!" she called up the stairs. It took me a few moments to realize that she was summoning her husband, and not the son in front of her. "Come down here, there's someone I want you to meet!" Turning back to me, she smiled as she winked at her son. "We'll be there in a moment, Edward, Bella." With that, she turned and walked away, her heart beat quickened with excitement.

I turned to smile at Edward as he rolled his eyes. "The woman's crazy," he said jokingly, folding the dripping jacket over his arm and placing it on a table beside the door. Looking at his hands, his lopsided smile, I felt the sudden urge to speak my mind. The relief at finding him safe—alive—was almost too great for me to handle.

"Don't get offended," I began, twisting the bottom of my shirt in a nervous habit I must have developed as a human, "but this house is really…creepy."

He laughed, and the relief intensified. "You said it. My mom's into old houses right now; it's one of her many obsessions." Well, that explained why they came to Forks then.

I smiled again; this was something I could relate to. "Same here. My mom's an interior designer. We move every two or three years so she can take on her next project, restore some old ruins or whatever she feels like at the time." It was only a half-lie; we did move every few years, and Esme _was_ an interior designer. The reason for the move was where we came up short. It was much, much more sinister than I'd let this boy believe.

Edward frowned at me as we walked to the living room. "I think my mom knows yours. They did interior design together in New Hampshire a few years back."

It was my turn to be surprised; I turned to him, raising my eyebrows. My words echoed my thoughts: "Really? Esme never said anything…" I thought through this new connection with the Masens as I sat down, my stone weight leaving a sizeable indent in the plump cushions.

My thoughts flickered to Alice, and I ground my teeth. The damned pixie knew about this. I was sure of it.

I was alone with my thoughts for a moment as Edward peered out the window, his eyes distant and focused on something I couldn't see. Then he returned his attention to me. A slight jolt rippled through my abdomen when he smiled, and I bit my lip. _What was I, in some bad teenage romance? Think quick, Bella!_

"So, um…I meant to ask before, but my mother didn't really give me a chance." Oh damn. "How exactly did you get here? I noticed you didn't bring a car…" he trailed off, watching nervously for any sign of temper or other typical, unexpected female explosions.

Instead I smiled, and his heart tempo quickened slightly. _Think quick, think quick!_ "I ran." _Oh, good one. That's REALLY not going to raise questions. Real good improvisation, Bella. Real smooth._

He raised his eyebrows, and I continued hurriedly. "I'm a member of the track team, and my coach thought it would be a good idea to train in all kinds of conditions."

Edward looking at me sceptically. "I didn't know the school had a track team." _Damn, damn, damn!_

"They don't! When I said _the_ track team, I meant _a_ track team. I run interstate. Sometimes. On weekends." I winced internally at my rambling, incredibly false explanation of my mode of transport. I'd never been good at making things up on the spot.

Technically though, the 'interstate on weekends' thing was true.

Finally he smiled, and I released the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding while he thought things through. "Fair enough, I guess. You must be really good." I shook my head, trying desperately to think of a way to return the focus to him. _Don't make me lie to you._

Unfortunately, he had one more question.

"I don't mean to sound rude, Bella—" _As if he ever could_ "—but why are you here? I'm not complaining or anything," he added gently, "but it was a bit of a…surprise."

Though I'd known it was coming, I still had no idea how to answer this one. I looked down at the shagpile carpet, attempting to keep the emotion out of my expression as I thought through my response.

Eventually, I decided to go with the truth. Or at least, its closest alternative.

"My sister, Alice," I began hesitantly. "She's…perceptive. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. I felt like I should put her mind to rest."

When he stared at me blankly, I continued, "Besides, I needed the extra training." _Good work Bella, keeping with the original story. Nice to see you doing it right, for once._

Slowly, his mouth curved upwards into that familiar crooked grin, green eyes filled with a pleased kind of surprise. I tried to keep my breathing pattern regular, feeling a strange tightness in my chest that overrode the burn in my throat.

"Thankyou. For the concern, I mean. It's nice to know that someone cares about my wellbeing aside from as a way to meet girls."

Our eyes met, and I exhaled heavily. "Mike," we muttered simultaneously; him as an explanation, me as an expletive. He laughed again, and I smiled, content with this new common ground between us. It was almost like I was making a friend. With a human.

What an odd idea.

"So," I began, testing the waters as to what had and hadn't been said yet, "did your good friend Mike tell you about his very, very misguided attempts at wooing me in junior year?" From the way Edward's mouth fell open and his eyes widened, I supposed not.

He snapped it shut hastily, clearing his throat in an attempt to regain composure. "No, he didn't mention it yet," he replied, eyes searching my face for any sign that I was joking. _Trust me Edward—I really, REALLY wish I was._

"That's interesting." The barely contained laughter was evident in my voice. His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, and I smiled blithely in return.

"You're being serious." It wasn't so much a question as a statement of confirmation. I nodded, smirking, and a slow smile appeared on his lips. "What did he say?" he breathed, and I laughed, leaning forward to regale him with the almost painfully hilarious story of Mike's very misplaced, hormone-fuelled crush. Edward found the entire thing hysterical, tears streaming down his face as I protested that none of it had been my fault in the least. Soon I was laughing too, breathlessly, to the point where I no longer knew what I'd found funny in the first place but kept laughing for the sake of the sound.

A loud clearing of throats indicated to me that we were no longer alone. Edward jumped up, startled, and I turned my head to see Elizabeth standing there in the doorway with her arm around a tall man I knew must be Edward's father.

"Bella, this is Edward Snr. Ed, this is Isabella Cullen, Edward's…friend. From the high school." Edward's father leaned forward to shake my hand, frowning as he made contact with my skin. _Finally, a rational response from this family!_

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Cullen. Forgive the question—I don't mean to be rude—but are you cold? Your hands…"

For the first time that night, I had an excuse ready. Smiling apologetically, I replied, "Poor circulation, unfortunately. My hands and feet are always like ice." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flicker of understanding pass over Edward's face, but I didn't dwell on it.

Mr Masen nodded, smiling as he did so. "Well, it's nice to finally meet one of the local kids. Edward over here hasn't said a word about anyone, aside from some Newton kid. Do you know who he is?" I exchanged a glance with the man's son, and nodded, one side of my mouth curving wryly. Elizabeth's eyes darted between our faces, and something like satisfaction filled her gaze. How strange.

It was only then that I glanced at the clock. My eyes widened in alarm as my brain made sense of the placement of the hands. I'd been here for more than an hour without noticing. My family must be wondering what had happened.

"I should really be going," I said regretfully, pushing myself up from the sofa as it creaked beneath me. Edward's eyes widened in a surprised protest.

"But you only just got here!" he said, standing the moment I did. I hid a smile at the display of old-fashioned manners that seemed ingrained into his nature. It would be called archaic by most—I thought it sweet.

I gestured towards the grandfather clock with one hand, my excuse to go ticking quietly in the corner. Edward glanced at it quickly, his lips drooping into something like a pout. Even though I knew it was in jest, my fingers ached to smooth away the lines from that innocent face. I locked my hands behind my back, not trusting them to be still without restraint.

"Edward, it _is_ getting late. Bella should probably go home," Elizabeth said gently, breaking us both from our respective reveries. Edward nodded, though his eyes were fixed on mine, unwilling to let go. I pulled my gaze away, turning to walk towards the front door. Edward followed, saying nothing. Remembering my manners, I turned when I entered the hall, calling back towards the living room.

"It was lovely to meet you, Mr and Mrs Masen."

"You too, Bella," Elizabeth called back. "Hopefully we'll see you soon!"

Edward reached around me to swing open the heavy wooden door, and I didn't protest; I was getting used to the random acts of chivalry around him. I smiled at him instead as I stepped over the threshold, standing silently on the porch with my gaze locked on his.

"Are you running home?" he asked quietly, a wicked glint in those emerald eyes. I shot him a bright smile, noting with satisfaction that his heart rate increased exponentially.

"It's not that far. Besides, I think the rain's dropped off a little." That was the first complete lie I'd told all evening—my sensitive hearing had detected a steady increase in the sound of raindrops smashing against the roof and ground throughout the course of my visit. Not that that would deter me or anything.

"Well, have fun then," he said after a few moments. I stared at him in silence, making him shift his weight from one foot to the other. "Err…was that the right thing to say?"

I grinned at him, being careful not to show too much of my razor-sharp teeth.

"No, have fun works with almost anything," I replied, watching as he visibly relaxed. He nodded once, eyes still appraising my expression. I wondered what he saw there—the monster that so many professed us to be? Or something else. Something he liked.

Clearing his throat, he nodded again, the thoughtful expression replaced by something almost business like. "Goodnight, Cullen."

Something in his attempt at bravado went straight to my heart. Without thinking, I leaned in, my lips touching his cheek briefly before pulling away. The skin was warm, soft beneath my stone mouth. He stared at me, stunned, as I reached to take the door handle from his now frozen hands.

"Goodnight, Masen."

The moment the door closed, the relief engulfed me, drowning me in its luxuriant, bliss-filled depths. _He was fine. Edward was fine._ I'd made a fool out of myself by turning up unexpectedly on his doorstep, but it didn't matter. _He was fine!_

Thinking of something, I licked my lips, wincing as I did so. The taste…the taste was exquisite. Beyond anything I could have imagined. It was ridiculous, to think that I could have protected this boy from anything fate had thrown at him. But all the same…

I couldn't have given an explanation for what I did next. I stole quickly from the porch, moving swiftly and silently around the house until I was situated beneath what I thought was the kitchen window. The edge of the roof sheltered me from the worst of the rain; inside the house, I could hear the low whistle of a kettle, and two steady heartbeats beating just above my head.

"Edward Anthony Masen," Elizabeth Masen breathed, her tone both suggestive and surprised. "You never said anything!"

I heard the rustle of cloth as he shrugged, clearly trying to pass this off as nothing out of the ordinary. "It's nothing, Mom, hence why I never said anything. She's a friend from school, is all." I bit back the urge to laugh at the obvious discomfort in his voice. _A friend? Well, I guess that's one way to describe it._

Elizabeth wasn't to be deterred, however. "But Edward…she's stunning." Awe coloured her tone, and I shifted uncomfortably. Sometimes I forgot exactly how attractive we appeared to the fragile humans we were designed to feed from. It was one of our many, incredibly unnecessary lures.

Edward sighed deeply, and the bench creaked slightly as he leant against it. "You're telling me," he replied, exasperation and something else filling his voice. I frowned; was it…longing? No, that couldn't be right.

"Isabella…how very fitting," the woman murmured thoughtfully, one finger tapping against her chin. Normally I would have rolled my eyes—the clichéd line was one I'd heard a thousand times over—but for once, I refrained. Coming from this woman and her son, it seemed genuine.

"I see we're on the same wavelength." Edward's amused tones carried clearly through the house; I imagined they would have been audible even to human ears. There was silence for a few moments after that statement; clearly they were both wondering if I'd heard them.

"I don't suppose she…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off, and my mind ran through the possibilities of whatever she could have been about to say. I had a few ideas;, and waited for a confirmation or denial of my suspicions.

"No!" Edward's surprise was evident in his voice, and I heard him shake his head vigorously. I'd been prepared for that; what I hadn't been expecting was the sudden, inexplicable wave of hurt that washed through me at the verbal rejection.

"No," he repeated, and my ears pricked at the sound of defeat that laced his next words. "It's not like that." _Not like what, Edward? Do tell._

The last thought wasn't intended as a command, but I supposed my abilities weren't particularly concerned with that distinction.

"It's not like I'm going to ask her out or anything," he continued. _Oh. That makes more sense now. _The words sounded a little stiff, as was characteristic of people who I forced confessions from. They never really had a choice as to what they did and didn't divulge.

"And why not?" Elizabeth demanded, her voice filled with mock indignation. I fought the urge to smile as I listened to the rest of the exchange. "You're a boy, she's a girl, she's beyond gorgeous, I like her, _obviously_ you like her…I'm not seeing a problem here!"

Edward chuckled without humour. "In case you haven't noticed, Mom, she's a little bit out of my league." _Be still, my silent heart!_

"Oh," he said, the sudden idleness in his voice making me suspect that he was trying to change the subject, "did I mention that she's Esme's daughter?"

There was a moment of shocked silence, before Elizabeth's hand slapped down on something with a loud crack. "What was that for?" Edward protested loudly; I imagined him rubbing his injured arm with the other hand and looking like a wounded puppy. The strange picture made me giggle softly.

"Esme's daughter?? You never said a word!" Elizabeth replied, her voice filled with _real_ indignation as she mulled over the name of her former friend. "Cullen, Cullen…of course, I just didn't make the connection."

"That'd be your fault, not mine," Edward mumbled, not loud enough for his mother to pay any attention to him. She clapped her hands together decidedly, and I heard someone exhale sharply.

"I'll have to go visit her, then! It's been far too long, far too long. You'll have to come with me of course—Bella's _your_ friend, after all." The sound of shoes clicking against the stone floor of the Masen's kitchen, and the retreat of one heart beat told me that Elizabeth had left the kitchen. Accepting that I wasn't going to hear anything else of interest tonight, I pulled away from the wall and into the night, letting the rain soak through my semi-dry hair for the second time. Ripping into the forest, I allowed my mind to wander, my body working mechanically as it took me away from the town and back to my waiting family. One though continued to surface, growing in disdain and ferocity as I considered it over and over. The more I thought about it, the more true it seemed, and the deeper I fell into my own humiliation.

_You, Isabella Marie Cullen, are an idiot._

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